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Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are looking at highly-rated Chelsea youngster Josh Acheampong, as they seek to sort out the future of their right-back positions.
The 18-year-old is moving into first-team football and tipped for big things at Stamford Bridge, but his status as an academy graduate in a squad that already features 44 professionals means PSG and Madrid believe he is a player the club would consider selling, particularly with how Profit and Sustainability Rules ensure any such fee would go into the accounts as pure profit. Chelsea, however, are internally insisting that Acheampong is not for sale.
This has seen the club primarily consider the exits of academy graduates, since the sale fee does not have to be set against any purchase fee, so they represent "pure profit". Acheampong fits that profile, which is what Madrid and PSG are now focusing on. They may have a battle, however, as this is one young player who the club want to keep. Manager Enzo Maresca likes him and sees him as a big part of plans for future.
Chelsea's pursuit of this policy, and the pending exit of Conor Gallagher, is known to have caused ripples among the club's underage teams.
A series of major European clubs have already identified this situation as offering opportunity among some of England's bloated squads, and both Madrid and PSG lead the way in pursuing Acheampong.
This all comes as the wealthiest clubs increasingly pivot to signing the best young talent, in the manner that the likes of Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla used to make their speciality. There is a belief in the market that Manchester United's €60m purchase of Leny Yoro from Lille has set a benchmark for that profile of player. The 18-year-old centre-half's price was so high due to factors like his potential for growth and the knowledge his wages will be low, meaning clubs are essentially investing, as well as – crucially – the fact he had played 60 senior games at Lille.
Acheampong is seen as a similar profile of player, who can also play centre-half in addition to right-back, with the only difference between the two being a lack of minutes due to the English youth international coming through a major Premier League club rather than the French league. As such, both Madrid and PSG are eyeing a potential fee of around €15m.
Both have similar reasons for the interest beyond Acheampong's burgeoning quality, too. The Spanish and French champions have two of the best right-backs in the world in Dani Carvajal and Achraf Hakimi, respectively, but also want capable deputies who can appear in 20-plus games a season while offering a clear succession plan. Acheampong would certainly look set for more football than in the current Chelsea squad.
The London club might meanwhile be forced to consider business due to both the size of their squad and their own PSR restrictions. The early expenditure in the first two years of the Clearlake Capital ownership era has pushed Chelsea close to the limits, bringing huge pressure to sell over the last two windows.
This has seen the club primarily consider the exits of academy graduates, since the sale fee does not have to be set against any purchase fee, so they represent "pure profit". Acheampong fits that profile, which is what Madrid and PSG are now focusing on.
The sale of other graduates such as Gallagher, Mason Mount and potentially Trevoh Chalobah has caused ripples in Chelsea's underage teams, with many of their academy successors now wondering whether they have to consider moves away. The policy is understood to have had a profound impact at that level.
