Chelsea hand surprise first Premier League start to 18-year-old academy star at Crystal Palace

Josh Acheampong will make his full Premier League debut for Chelsea in their clash against Crystal Palace.

The Blues have travelled to Selhurst Park in need of three points after three league matches without a win, including two defeats.

2

Enzo Maresca has named a youthful defence for the London derby, with 18-year-old Acheampong being a surprise inclusion.

The right-back will start alongside Malo Gusto, Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella in what is his first ever league start for Chelsea.

Cobham academy graduate Acheampong made his senior debut for the club last season as a substitute in their 2-0 win over Tottenham.

He has featured a further four times for Chelsea across the Carabao Cup and UEFA Conference League.

Maresca’s change comes after he revealed that centre-back Wesley Fofana could miss the rest of the season with a hamstring injury.

“Unfortunately he could be out for the season,” he said during his pre-match press conference.

“We don’t know exactly for the entire season but for sure he could be out for part of it.”

Benoit Badiashile is also expected to be out of action until February with an injury he picked up last month.

Tosin Adarabioyo and Axel Disasi are two centre-backs named on the bench, as well as fellow defenders Reece James and Renato Veiga.

Acheampong’s full Premier League debut comes less than a month after he signed a new contract at Chelsea until 2029.

2

The agreement followed a period in which the teenager was not able to feature for the senior or youth teams until he penned a new deal.

Liverpool and Real Madrid were interested in the highly-rated right-back but he has remained at Chelsea.

Acheampong played the entirety of the Conference League wins over FC Astana and Shamrock Rovers in December.

He also came off the bench in their 5-0 Carabao Cup thrashing of Barrow, with Maresca now trusting him in the Premier League.