Chelsea star given ultimatum and told he won't play until situation is resolved

Chelsea teenager Josh Acheampong has been told he won't play for the first-team until he signs a new deal.

The defender's current contract expires in 2026 and discussions have begun over an extension, but so far nothing has been agreed. Acheampong had been rising up the ranks in west London and was handed his professional debut last season when Mauricio Pochettino was at the helm.

Chelsea regard the teenager as their third choice right-back, leaving him behind Reece James and Malo Gusto. Acheampong's stock at Stamford Bridge seemed to be rising as he was included in their pre-season tour, but in recent weeks he's continued to be overlooked.

He was not even named on the bench for Chelsea’s games at Bournemouth and West Ham last month despite James and Gusto being out injured with Enzo Maresca instead opting to use centre-halves as makeshift solutions. The 18-year-old has only played once under Maresca - and that’s was just 27 minutes as a substitute against Barrow in the Carabao Cup.

Acheampong has also been overlooked for the U21s despite previously being a regular - meaning he has gone nearly a full month without representing Chelsea at any level.

The Athletic understands that Acheampong’s continuous omission is due to the contract talks stalling with the club making it clear to him the situation will not change unless he puts pen to paper on a new deal.

It has been reported that Acheampong, who can also play at the heart of defence, is already being targeted by other major clubs ahead of the January transfer. Chelsea though are determined not to sell and want to remain at the negotiation table.

Chelsea have long taken a strong stance with an academy graduates during contract negotiations, which has carried over into their first-team. In the past two summers they've moved on two homegrown talents in Mason Mount and Conor Gallagher.

Both men stalled over signing new deals and were sold on for pure profit. In Gallagher’s case he was told to train away from the first team when he reported back for pre-season before his move to Atletico Madrid was eventually finalised.

Despite Acheampong being highly-rated he would not be the first bright prospect to choose to leave Chelsea over fears his route into the first-team would be blocked. In recent years the likes of Tariq Lamptey and Tino Livramento - who were both right-backs - opted to further their careers elsewhere.

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