When Chelsea did not sign another centre-back in the summer, one of the reasons given to the media was that it was in order to help the progress of Josh Acheampong. He did start against Crystal Palace and put in a solid performance. It looked like the Blues might have found their answer to Levi Colwill's injury absence.
Since then, Acheampong has not played a single minute of football. That is simply unacceptable, especially considering how shaky Chelsea have looked at the back. Why not give him another chance after that superb performance against Crystal Palace.
The lowest point certainly has to be in the game against Manchester United, as Acheampong was not even included in the squad. Many were wondering if the youngster was dealing with some sort of injury, which has been the reason behind his recent absence.
Enzo Maresca has made it clear that that is not the case though. As reported by Chelsea Dodgers, when asked whether Acheampong was injured, the manager said:
"No, Josh is just because we had Tosin [Adarabioyo], Malo [Gusto] was on the bench also, we had already two defenders, so it was just for that, not for any other reason."
Real reason Josh Acheampong was dropped against Manchester United
Questions certainly need to be asked of Maresca for how he has handled the development of Chelsea's youngsters since his appointment. How many players has he really improved in that period of time?
Players like Acheampong need time on the pitch to improve. He looks like someone who has the potential to be a first-team player one day. But if Maresca continues to drop him, he will inevitably want to leave the club and he should.
If he was completely out of Maresca's plans, why did not the club send him out on loan. That would have been a much better learning curve for him than sitting on the bench, if he is lucky.
That fact of the matter is that the Club World Cup has raised expectations of the supporters. They are under a microscope now. And if their form does not pick up soon, it won't long for the fans to want to see Maresca sacked.