Josh Acheampong x Saiming - Unicorns Amongst Us

There’s a not too distant reality out there in which Josh Acheampong isn’t playing for Chelsea. People forget just how close he was to leaving in the 2023/24 season after contract disputes and playing time concerns resulted in him virtually being banned from playing for the club, at any level.

But miraculously pen was put to paper and Acheampong was integrated into the first team the year after. Since then, it’s hardly been smooth sailing for the defender and his camp. Those concerns regarding a real pathway into the first team perpetuated and doubled down as Chelsea’s scatter-gun transfer strategy led to the signings of more and more teenage defenders who looked as though they would take minutes from the Cobham graduate.

Even during this transfer window, despite Chelsea remaining steadfast that he was not leaving the club in any capacity, many fans were slowly accepting the daunting fate that had been lingering for the last two years. He was going to leave. 

But he didn’t. Chelsea, aided by Xabi Alonso’s back three system, were finally coming good on the promises they had been promising for the last 12 months: game time. A player who was consistently looked past when the stakes were high - for equally as inexperienced but more expensive players, finally began starting meaningful games for the Blues. Now the gloom turns to glee and the sun shines once more over Stamford Bridge because they’ve finally managed to keep one of their most talented academy players. 

Acheampong is a unicorn. Players like him don’t exist, shouldn’t exist. When he plays, it almost doesn’t look right. But it’s so right. It’s an incredible spectacle to watch a player who missed out on under 21 football altogether and skip any developmental loan moves that other youngsters have benefited from - completely shut down your favourite winger despite being at least 6 '5’’.

Typically, centre-backs don’t like being left on an island out wide. Why should they? They’re typically the tallest, least agile players on the pitch and can get left for dead by twitchy attackers half their size. But some centre-backs don’t let that disturb them. There’s not many of them, the likes of Virgil Van Dijk, William Saliba, Dayot Upamecano - who belong in this list. A combination of size, speed and coordination allows them to walk away from duels with both the ball and their opponents spirit.

That’s the class of players Acheampong will find himself with if he continues on the path he’s on. He’s not there yet but it’s attainable. Despite his long legs and his immense height which only seems to grow every time he plays, he has a field day against these wingers. The footwork, the small steps when sizing up the opponent and the body positioning between him and the goal, are exemplary almost every time. He takes the control away from whoever it is in possession and takes them down a corridor they don’t want to go. Often that’s off the pitch or backwards.

Because Acheampong came through Cobham as a full-back, all those 1v1 fundamentals have stuck with him. Now, because he’s grown so much in the last few years, he’s transformed into a centre-back who hasn’t lost any of that mobility or speed. It’s a combination of physical gifts and exemplary education that has made a player and person who can go on to be revered just as much as the names I mentioned earlier.

But a purely great defender isn’t what the 19 year old can be limited to. With the ball, we’ve seen Acheampong perform in a myriad of roles. A centre-back, full-back, wing-back and even a midfielder in extremely rare cases. That points to two things: One is the ability he has and the versatility in his skillset (the USP of any Cobham graduate) to play in these roles at a high level which a plethora of managers have realised. And the overall intelligence that lies in him.

It can’t be understated the jump up from u18s football to Premier League. Only a handful of players have done it. The u21s level, despite having its own flaws and risks of player stagnation, is a good level to become more exposed to the senior side of the game. Acheampong never got it due to all the contract disputes. So now, when you’re seeing him play in four positions as a player still immensely new to senior football, you can’t take it as though it’s any old thing. It’s not normal.

His outstanding quality with the ball lies in his carrying. That’s his ability to take the ball and progress it 30 yards due to his sheer power, frame and impalpable speed. These moves are quickly turning into his signature. A player extremely hard to stop once he gets going and offers a game-breaking trait at manager’s disposal to open up opposition teams. 

Though the talent is obvious, Acheampong’s lack of senior minutes despite being in the Chelsea first team for two years, does leave him with occasional lapses in concentration. This was evident in Chelsea’s first game of the season when small mistakes became a commonality towards the last 15 minutes of the game. But with the more minutes it looks like he’s going to get now after seemingly nailing down a spot as Chelsea’s starting right-sided centre-back, this will improve over time.

From Acheampong, the multi-faceted, one-of-a-kind footballer, we turn to an equally as talented musician with a sound just as all-encompassing and full of promise.

To say Saiming, a rapper hailing from South London, is just a grime artist - would be unfair. To say he’s just a jazz-inspired musician would be reductive. The term ‘mellow-grime’ has been coined in order to describe the new-generation sound that he and his compatriots have been exploring but Saiming’s sound in particular exceeds that.

The self-proposed ‘S-travagant’ man is a 24 year old who operates in a field of wonderfully talented and hungry musicians looking to change the face of UK music. They all fit under the umbrella of soulful and serene jazz-rap which has taken a sort of resurgence since the likes of Lausse The Cat and Finn Foxell wove their magic years ago.

The likes of BexBlu and Wilfred, producer extraordinaires who went viral on tiktok placing jazzy beats over iconic UK grime freestyles, pioneered this new wave but in truth it’s expanded so far that there’s hundreds of artists who identify with it. At the centre of everything great about this offshoot of the UK underground scene, along with names like Pozzy, J2, Samson, Namesbliss, Paul Stephan, t.o and so many others -  is Saiming a.k.a Sai-Ming Chong.

Raised in Lambeth, very close to where UK rap originated, by parents who met in a jazz bar, you could say that his story was maybe written from the second he entered the world. Saiming comes across as quietly confident and easy-going. He pays tribute to the groundbearers of Skepta, Dave, Knucks and Ayrtn for inspiring his sound and view of music but acknowledges that he can’t tell you if the next song he makes will pay tribute to his drill or grime influences or whether it’s going to be all afrobeats.

This wide diaspora of musical genres in one artist’s catalogue might seem like it’s too hectic and incoherent. But it complements Saiming and his cadence perfectly. He’s laconic on any beat he raps on, as though this whole thing comes easy to him. The way he raps is monotone and almost conversational but at the same time it grips you with its potency. He’s a very good craftsman just off a technical basis. His flows are tight-knit and easy to digest. His lyrics elude the skill of someone obviously pretty switched on upstairs.

Whether it’s witty lines and phrases he likes to include on his more light-hearted tracks or the thought-provoking and deeply relatable songs which are more introspective, his versatility in his message matches the versatility in his sound. 

Recently, he’s begun to acknowledge the responsibility that he and other artists have to use their platform to share what they believe in. What you create is but a reflection of yourself and so the artist describes the great Gil Scott-Heron as someone who he looks up to for keeping his message at the centre of music whilst still making timeless music.

His lyrics read like a diary entry, as a young musician who’s still figuring himself and the world around him out but is at peace with who he is and where he’s going. Saiming’s energy, whether it’s on his songs or live performances or even interviews, makes him easy to route for. There’s a blend of youthfulness yet clear maturity that is predicated in what he does and it’s extremely refreshing.

The ‘mellow-grime’ (although Saiming and others aren’t too fond of that name) wave is only growing. Every musician which lies in it seems so down to earth and well-meaning across every platform you see them. It’s another example of a UK scene which is filled to the brim with talent and is shining brightly as a consequence. 

Josh Acheampong and Saiming, two people so unique in their talent and their application with their whole careers still ahead of them to make the most of it. They can go as far as they want to as long as the environment around them stays positive and continues to bloom opportunities. Not many quite like them.