Newcastle United have reportedly identified Chelsea youngster Josh Acheampong as a potential transfer target for 2025.
The Magpies have enjoyed a strong start to the new Premier League campaign, accumulating 10 points from their opening four fixtures.
That is despite Eddie Howe having been left frustrated with Newcastle's business over the summer, with the club most notably missing out on Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi.
Nevertheless, a willingness to spend £65m on a single player will have not gone unnoticed by their fanbase, the funds seemingly being there to invest and still comply with the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules.
During the off-season, Newcastle were also required to push through a £28m deal for Chelsea academy graduate Lewis Hall after an initial year-long loan stint.
More business with Chelsea?
In that instance, Newcastle were able to take advantage of Chelsea's co-owners being willing to cash in on a homegrown talent in order to help them meet the relevant rules.
Although Chelsea have since stabilised on that front, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital are likely to view any proposal presented to them on an individual basis.
According to The i, Newcastle are contemplating whether to make an approach for Acheampong in one of the upcoming transfer windows.
The report suggests that director of football Paul Mitchell has earmarked the 18-year-old as a potential target in an attempt to tinker with the transfer strategy at St James' Park.
Aside from Lewis Miley, young talent coming through the academy system has been sparse, making it appealing to track players such as Acheampong who has already been trusted in a Premier League game.
Under the watch of Mauricio Pochettino, the right-back was introduced for the closing minutes of a 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in May.
As far as this season is concerned, though, the teenager's game time has been restricted to Premier League 2, albeit with an appearance on the substitutes' bench in the Europa Conference League playoff.
Is game time likely under Maresca?
Acheampong is naturally behind Reece James, Malo Gusto and Axel Disasi in the right-back pecking order, yet that does not mean that he will not earn more senior minutes going forward.
James has endured frequent injury issues, as has Gusto to a certain extent, while Disasi is not necessarily a natural fit to the role.
If Acheampong moved to Newcastle, he would be behind Valentino Livramento - another Chelsea academy graduate - and Kieran Trippier in the pecking order.
Mitchell could plausibly be eyeing Acheampong as a long-term alternative to the latter, who is at risk of seeing his game time reduced throughout 2024-25. body check tags ::
