Maresca's preferred Chelsea centre-back pairing revealed as Acheampong receives message
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Enzo Maresca insisted that young Chelsea centre-back Josh Acheampong will get his chances despite the head coach already having his first-choice defensive pairing.
Acheampong's reduced involvement last month was really noticeable.
The 19-year-old went from making five appearances in October to just one in November, and that was an eight-minute cameo in the second half against Barcelona.
He made his first start since October in Tuesday's Champions League defeat to Atalanta, and he played as right-back rather than centrally.
Still, despite the disappointing result, Maresca was very pleased with the Chelsea academy graduate's display in Italy.
"Absolutely yes," Maresca said when asked if Acheampong's performance was among the positives from the Atalanta defeat.
"The good thing about Josh is that in the moment that we give him the chance, he's always doing well.
"This is the reason why I said many times that he is going to be a big player for this club.
"It just matters to be patient, wait for the right moment, and also in the moment that you continue to perform in the way he's doing, probably he's going to have more chances, chances, chances."
Maresca's first-choice Chelsea centre-back pairing
The Chelsea head coach also admitted that, for now, he already has a preferred centre-back pairing, who have performed quite well in recent weeks.
"Because in this moment, also with Trev (Chalobah) and Wes (Fofana), we had like four, five, six games with clean sheet, clean sheet, clean sheet," the Italian explained when asked the reason behind Acheampong's limited minutes.
"So sometimes you are also looking for stability. So this is the reason why.
"But again, when you know that you have a player that, when you need him, he's always ready to perform, it's so important.
"So Josh has to continue to do what he's doing."
From Chelsea's perspective, it is good news that Maresca is looking for more stability at the back.
This does not necessarily mean there will be no space for the other centre-backs, including Acheampong, however.
Maresca already reiterated several times that Fofana is still not ready to play two games a week, at least full matches.
Trevoh Chalobah is more durable, but he eventually needs some rest too.
If Acheampong can continue showing that he can deliver when given the opportunity, there is nothing stopping him from being ahead of Benoit Badiashile and Tosin Adarabioyo in the pecking order.
Gerry Crisandy is a freelance writer who has covered Chelsea for many years. His work has been published on The Chelsea Chronicle and Pride of London. He grew up idolising Michael Ballack and is a firm believer in expected goals.