Newcastle United plot January move for ‘outstanding Chelsea athlete’ that has starred for England at youth level

Newcastle United are believed to be eyeing up Chelsea academy prospect Josh Acheampong, in a move which could present an early indication of Paul Mitchell’s long-term recruitment plan at St James’ Park.

The Magpies have had success when recruiting from Chelsea in the past. Left back Lewis Hall was signed directly from Stamford Bridge for £28m and former Blues academy star Tino Livramento was acquired from Southampton for a reported figure of £32m in the summer of 2023.

Acheampong is highly-rated by Chelsea and was included in the matchday squad for the first time against Newcastle during a 3-2 victory in March 2024. Just two months later the youngster made his competitive debut off the bench during a 2-0 win over London rivals Tottenham Hotspur at the end of last season.

The 18-year-old, who has been capped twice for England at U19 level, was a shining light throughout pre-season for the Blues and has been described by BBC Sport journalist Nizaar Kinsella as an ‘outstanding athlete’ who can play both as a centre back and a right back.

However, at this stage Acheampong is yet to appear in the Chelsea matchday squad for any of their opening four league games this term, leading to claims from I News that he could be sold so that the club can make ‘pure’ profit on the balance sheets based on profit and sustainability rules.

The outlet understands that Acheampong is the subject of interest from a number of top clubs including Paris Saint Germain and Real Madrid, but Newcastle are believed to be the club that are showing the most concrete interest at this stage.

Identifying younger talent has become essential as PSR – and its future iteration of squad cost controls – mean that clubs such as Newcastle have no option but to box clever in future transfer windows, combining first team signings with development players and a more global scouting strategy.

In the most recent summer window, the Magpies were fairly quiet in terms of their first team recruitment but the likes of Blackburn’s Rory Finneran, West Brom’s Jayden Kouossu and FK Jedinstvo’s Miodrag Pivas are all examples of players that have been signed for the future at academy level.

Newcastle are blessed with strength in the right back department with Livramento and Kieran Trippier, although the latter has been the subject of rampant transfer speculation after dropping out of the starting XI and losing his on-the-field captaincy status to Brazil star Bruno Guimaraes.

The 34-year-old currently has one-year remaining on his St James’ Park career which could lead to the Magpies hunting for a replacement in the near future.