Enzo Maresca has said Josh Acheampong will be ‘the future’ of the club after scoring his first Chelsea goal.
Acheampong opened the scoring as Chelsea won 3-0 at Nottingham Forest on Saturday before meeting Pedro Neto’s cross and heading home. It was the 19-year-old’s first senior goal and set the west Londoners on course for an important three points.
Acheampong made his third league start of the Premier League season after impressing for Maresca since leaving the academy. The Chelsea boss has backed the teenager to become a long-term part of his plans.
“I am very happy for him. People will think that you only trust a player when he plays, and not when you don’t play,” Maresca told TNT Sports full-time.
“I have trusted Josh from the start of last season. He is a fantastic player and will be the future of this club.”
“Reece James is very important. Hopefully he can be fit for more games. Since I got here we have tried to manage him. He has had problems in the past but now he looks much better.”
Nottingham Forest sacked manager Ange Postecoglou in the immediate aftermath of the match, after an eight-match winless run. The Australian was in charge for just 39 days and Maresca said he sympathized with Postecoglou.
“I’m really sorry. It’s always a shame. But we often say this is a business where you have to win games. It’s the same result for all of us.”
“The first half they were very good, they tried to play their game. In the second half we were much better and deserved to win the game.”
“In the second half we were better, we changed something tactically and overall I think we deserved to win the game.”
Read – Postecoglou pays the price for diving into the deep end
See more – Nottingham Forest sack Postecoglou after 39 days after losing to Chelsea
Follow The Football Faithful on social media:
Facebook | Instagram | Tweet | YouTube | TikTok
#Maresca #Chelseas #goalscorer #clubs #future