With Chelsea trying to sell some of their players, Newcastle United has spotted an incredible opportunity. Following the arrival of the SPIF, Newcastle adopted careful spending.
On the contrary, Chelsea has spent more over £1 billion for fresh acquisitions including Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez since taking over by Todd Boehly in 2022.
Chelsea failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League in the last two campaigns despite having a high squad turnover rate. They are competing with Newcastle for a spot in Europe for the forthcoming campaign, and they may qualify for either the Europa Conference League or the Europa League.
Without European football, Chelsea’s cash flow is down, so they need to sell players. Selling those trained at the club means pure gain. Conor Gallagher, in his final year with Chelsea, may be sold soon.
Though Gallagher moving to Newcastle looks unlikely, another Chelsea-trained young player, Josh Acheampong, has caught Newcastle’s eye. Acheampong, 18, just played his first big game against Spurs.
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He signed his first professional contract with Chelsea this year and is capable of playing anywhere in the backline. Primarily a right-back, his versatility will appeal to Newcastle’s manager, Eddie Howe.
Acheampong is not only on Newcastle’s radar but also on Tottenham Hotspur’s and three of the four Champions League semi-finalists. Newcastle could snatch Acheampong from Chelsea as they decide which homegrown players they will sell.
Eddie Howe thinks that it is exactly what Newcastle should do. He told Gary Neville recently that Newcastle needs to sign players that have not yet made a big name for themselves and develop them.
Howe said, “That smart recruitment is ultimately going to be where we succeed or fail… we need to get players for cheaper than their market value and we’ve got to get them before they are recognised and develop them.”
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Acheampong is a description that fits perfectly into that bill, and it will be interesting if Newcastle makes the move to sign this Chelsea wonderkid this summer.
The economical constraints on Chelsea could create an opportunity for Newcastle United to steal some promising talent in Josh Acheampong. Such a move would align with the strategy of smart recruitment by manager Eddie Howe as this could really make a great difference for the Magpies in the future.
