“I wasn’t scared” – Real Madrid target speaks about biggest game of his career so far | OneFootball

Among the good vibes and happiness around Chelsea’s start to the season, there’s still room for a little frustration – in this case it continues a thread which has been around as long as we can remember at Chelsea.

The use – or rather the lack of use – of talented academy players has been a common thread for ten years or more now. Some managers are more inclined to use Cobham produced kids than others – but in the end every coach is so concerned with the immediate results and keeping their job that long term plans like creating a pathway for youngsters always ends up falling by the wayside.

That’s meant some pretty talented youngsters leaving, and that always stings.

The latest brilliant kid to come through the academy with real first team potential is Josh Acheampong, who got a debut last season and has made another couple of cameos since then. He did a really great video interview talking about the moment he finally got on the pitch for the Blues’ first team.

Josh Acheampong in preseason with Wrexham.

Acheampong is latest Cobham talent ready to step up

“[I’ll] always be ready because you never know when your chance can come. Just keep working hard because you don’t want it to be a one-time thing, I’d rather there be many more,” the defender said.

He was refreshingly honest about the whole experience:

“I thought I’d be a bit more scared, but I wasn’t scared I was really excited. I think when you’re more excited, you’re just kind of more calm.”

He speaks really well, full of enthusiasm and personality, and we really hope we’re getting ready to watch him launch a career with hundreds of appearances at Chelsea. The sky is the limit – there’s a reason Real Madrid are being linked to the latest wonderkid out of Cobham.