Chelsea prodigy
Ampadu, an 18-year-old central-defender who can also play in a defensive midfield role, came up through the youth ranks of Exeter City, before making the move to Chelsea in 2017.
And the young stopper has since gone on to establish himself as one of the most highly-regarded starlets on the books of the Blues.
Despite his tender years, Ampadu emerged as a regular member of Chelsea’s first-team squad last season, going on to notch a none-too-shabby 8 appearances across all competitions.
In addition, the gifted teen has already racked up 8 caps for Wales.
‘In the interest of Ethan and Chelsea’
With the likes of David Luiz, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen all ahead of him in the central-defensive pecking order at Stamford Bridge, however, the path to a starting berth week-in, week-out, looks a tough one to navigate for Ampadu at present.
Ethan Ampadu during the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Chelsea and Nottingham Forest.
As such, when the Welshman was omitted from Chelsea’s pre-season squad that flew to Japan earlier this week, Blues’ boss Frank Lampard was quickly questioned on his plans for Ampadu for the coming season.
And Lampard went on to admit that the club intend to loan the prodigious teen out:
‘We are looking at the possibility of Ethan going on loan for the season.’
‘I tried to sign Ethan on loan at Derby last year so I’m a big fan, but with the minutes he played last year, in the interest of Ethan and of Chelsea, the idea he can play a lot of games somewhere could be good for him. That’s not done yet, but we haven’t brought him here while that’s up in the air.’
‘I really wanted to work with Ethan this year. That’s a slight disappointment, but it’s to benefit him. In midfield and defence we have a lot of quality, so each player is a case by case.’
Leipzig bound?
Aston Villa were previously viewed as the front-runners to clinch Ampadu’s signature on a temporary basis, but, as per the aforementioned updates spreading across social media this evening, the versatile Chelsea man could in fact be set for a surprise move to the Bundesliga.
This comes after Ampadu was photographed in the city of Leipzig.
This has since led to inevitable speculation that the youngster will spend the 2019/20 campaign with RB Leipzig.