The curious case of Josh Acheampong

Chelsea defender Josh Acheampong remains part of the first-team squad, but has played only eight minutes across the club's last seven matches.

The 19-year-old's sole appearance since the end of October came as a substitute in the 3-0 home win over Barcelona, with the match already won.

As reported in the summer, Premier League and overseas clubs have shown interest in Acheampong, amid doubts over whether he can establish a bigger role within the squad.

It was notable, therefore, that Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said in his press conference ahead of Saturday's trip to Bournemouth: "One of the regrets I have after the [Leeds] game is that I didn't play Josh.

"The reason we went with Trevoh [Chalobah], Benoît [Badiashile] and Tosin [Adarabioyo] was because we anticipated long balls to their strikers, but even then, we lost most of them."

Badiashile was withdrawn at half-time for Malo Gusto, Chalobah played the first half out of position at right-back and Tosin was at fault for the third goal in Wednesday night's 3-1 defeat at Leeds. Acheampong, who is equally comfortable at centre-back and right-back, did not get on the pitch.

Chelsea's stance remains unchanged: Acheampong is regarded as an important player for the future and is not for sale. The reason the Blues did not sign a centre-back, despite Maresca saying he wanted one after Levi Colwill suffered a major injury in pre-season, is because they believe Acheampong is capable of playing at a high level.

The club are planning a relatively quiet January window, in terms of both incoming and outgoing transfers for the first-team squad, but fringe players are likely to explore their options in the hope the position is relaxed.

Acheampong signed a new contract at this point last season, which runs until 2029.