Man Utd want Chelsea wonderkid in exchange for Garnacho

Cameron Smith

31 Jan 2025 12:00 GMT
3 min read

Chelsea could reportedly include Josh Acheampong in a deal to sign Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho before the January transfer window closes.

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The Blues have been linked with Garnacho for several weeks, but talks have slowed down recently amid the club’s interest in Bayern Munich wonderkid Mathys Tel.

However, Chelsea are still expected to continue negotiations for Garnacho until Deadline Day and The Independent have revealed that the possibility of Acheampong being included in a potential deal has been raised.

Man Utd signed French defender Leny Yoro from Lille last summer, but they remain in the market for reinforcements and are now eyeing an ambitious move for Acheampong, who is considered to be one of England’s most promising youngsters.

However, despite reports that Acheampong could be used in a swap deal to sign Garnacho, Chelsea are extremely likely to retain the 18-year-old.

The teenager recently signed a new contract at the club, after lengthy extension talks, and Enzo Maresca is known to be a huge admirer.

© IMAGO - Chelsea want to sign Alejandro Garnacho

Enzo Maresca on Josh Acheampong

Following Acheampong’s first Premier League start against Crystal Palace in early January, Maresca was eager to heap praise on the Cobham academy graduate.

“For me all the players were good today, but if I have to decide for one, I think for sure Josh was our best player, because of his age, because it was his first game,” Maresca told reporters.

“For me, Josh can be a top player for this club, but he needs the right path, the right moment. With young players you have to decide which moment is right for them. We decided yesterday was his moment because we saw that he is ready and I think he showed how good he is.

STATS

Josh Acheampong

D (R)

Chelsea

Josh Acheampong

D (R)

Chelsea

10

Games
0

Goals
1

Assists

“Now, again because of his age, he needs to slow down, work hard and take the next chance. We knew already that Josh is good enough and he showed that he is ready.”

In addition to Chelsea, Napoli are also interested in signing Garnacho, but they are yet to match Man Utd’s asking price and are therefore unlikely to finalise a deal during the winter window.