Chelsea U-turn blows Newcastle United & Liverpool's chances of securing free agent deal
Chelsea are set to tie teenage defender Josh Acheampong down to a new contract.
The 18-year-old had been frozen out of all Chelsea teams — from first-team to youth level — after negotiations stalled over a new deal. The Independent then reported interest from Newcastle United, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Spanish giants Real Madrid with Acheampong due to become a free agent this summer.
But there had been increasing signs of a reconciliation in recent weeks. Acheampong trained with the senior squad ahead of their Conference League match at Heidenheim on November 28. A day later, the full-back then played for the under-21s when he came on as a substitute against Derby County.
A further indication of Acheampong’s improved situation was his start in the Blues’ win in Astana on Thursday night. Speaking ahead of the game, Enzo Marseca confirmed an extension was close to being finalised.
“With Josh it is all quite clear,” said Maresca. “We all love Josh, the club loves Josh, I love Josh and we are trying to find an agreement. We are close, we are almost there. We’ll see.”
Newcastle have Tino Livramento and Kieran Trippier as their senior options at right-back, however the latter continues to be linked with a move away after turning 34-year-old in September.
The Magpies, however, do have a highly-rated teenage right-back of their own with Leo Shahar, who joined from Wolverhampton Wanderers last summer, impressing for the unde-21s and at England under-17s level.