Fabrizio Romano reveals eye-opening Newcastle transfer swoop scrapped after Thiaw signing

Rob McCarthy 15 Sep 2025 11:00 PM

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe, with caption: Concrete interest

Newcastle had concrete interest in a Chelsea defensive talent

According to reputed transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, Newcastle United were reportedly considering raiding Chelsea for a top young talent before eventually settling on the more experienced Malick Thiaw this summer.

Eddie Howe was keen to reinforce his backline during the summer window after seeing injuries hit hard last season, with the likes of Sven Botman, Dan Burn and Lewis Hall all spending time on the sidelines.

And, according to Romano, Newcastle had highly-rated Chelsea starlet Josh Acheampong on their shortlist of options to add more depth at centre-back.

Acheampong had a breakout season last term, impressing with his ball-carrying skills, composure and ability to read the game.

He ended up making 14 appearances for the Blues, leading to interest from the Magpies as well as German duo Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, Bournemouth and Crystal Palace. However, Chelsea decided they wanted to keep Acheampong around as cover of their own.

Newcastle ended up shelling out £34.6m to bring in Thiaw instead, although the Germany international has so far struggled to break into Howe’s first XI.

The Toon boss has so far preferred his trusted pairing of Fabian Schar and Dan Burn, but with both players the wrong side of 30, there is an expectation that Newcastle could end up moving for Acheampong again.

He has only started one Premier League game for Chelsea this season, and considering their options at the back, he will almost certainly struggle for playing time.

Add in the fact that Enzo Maresca is also said to want Marc Guehi back at Stamford Bridge in the new year, and there could even be an opening when it comes to Acheampong in January.

He certainly fits the profile of what Howe and Newcastle are trying to do at St James’ Park, in terms of building a strong enough squad to challenge regularly at the top end of the league.

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