Ethan Ampadu

[Chelsea_firstlove 178]

9 hours ago, Supermonkey92 said:

I've always thought that a CB that can play dm or a dm that can play CB would be a great asset to a squad that can play a back 3, because that one player can allow you to effortlessly switch between a back 3 and a back 4.

Rudiger Ampadu Zouma

James kovacic kante Alonos

◇

James Rudiger Zouma Alonso

Ampadu
Kovacic kante


It completely falls apart if the full backs are shit though. But you see Henderson do something similar at Liverpool. He sits right inbetween the 2 CBS as the full backs basically act like wing backs.


Jorginho is shit at this.

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I don't know why so many people hate Christensen so much.

What Christensen did in Bundesliga is far better than Ampadu did.

People say that he's weak but Christensen(50) has more aerial duels won than Rudiger(37) and Tomori(34).

He always well positioned, calmess and has the quality on the ball.

Regarding Ampadu, he should be on loan next season beacause he need experience.

[Supermonkey92 1,428]

I don't know why so many people hate Christensen so much.
What Christensen did in Bundesliga is far better than Ampadu did.
People say that he's weak but Christensen(50) has more aerial duels won than Rudiger(37) and Tomori(34).
He always well positioned, calmess and has the quality on the ball.
Regarding Ampadu, he should be on loan next season beacause he need experience.

Maybe my eyes deceive me then because christensen has always looked shaky to me.

Will confidently disagree regarding his passing ability though. He's petrified to pass the ball forward at any alight pressing or shuffling into passing lanes. I mean ANY pressure and its straight back to his partner CB or GK. Really grinds my gears.

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[Jase 43,479]

10 hours ago, Chelsea_firstlove said:

People say that he's weak but Christensen(50) has more aerial duels won than Rudiger(37) and Tomori(34).

Isn't that a bit selective? You picked a stats to highlight Christensen's supposedly superiority over the others but equally, I can pick another stat to highlight Christensen's weakness - Christensen has a success rate of 56.3 in tackles, which is lower than Zouma (57.1) and Rudiger (62.5) OR Christensen has made only 19 interceptions, compared to Tomori's 22 and Zouma's 42 OR Christensen has made only 5 blocks, which is lower than Tomori (7), Zouma (11) and Rudiger (7). 

[Chelsea_firstlove 178]

9 hours ago, Supermonkey92 said:

Maybe my eyes deceive me then because christensen has always looked shaky to me.

Will confidently disagree regarding his passing ability though. He's petrified to pass the ball forward at any alight pressing or shuffling into passing lanes. I mean ANY pressure and its straight back to his partner CB or GK. Really grinds my gears.

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He can play as midfielder even he used to be an attack midfielder when he was a kid.

Top managers think his passing ability is good enough to play as midfielder and you disagree?

9 hours ago, Jason said:

Isn't that a bit selective? You picked a stats to highlight Christensen's supposedly superiority over the others but equally, I can pick another stat to highlight Christensen's weakness - Christensen has a success rate of 56.3 in tackles, which is lower than Zouma (57.1) and Rudiger (62.5) OR Christensen has made only 19 interceptions, compared to Tomori's 22 and Zouma's 42 OR Christensen has made only 5 blocks, which is lower than Tomori (7), Zouma (11) and Rudiger (7). 

Regarding tackles: What's different between 56.3 and 57.1? Rudiger has only 16 tackles, jesus christ, the worst. Christensen has 32 tackles, he has the most tackles among all of our CBs.

Regarding the other numbers, Zouma is the best because of his physique, but  I don't think Christensen, Tomori, Rudiger is so different, I'm sure Christensen is not the worst. 

I don't say Christensen is a beast, but people act like Christensen is a 12 years old girl. 

 

[Jase 43,479]

2 hours ago, Chelsea_firstlove said:

He can play as midfielder even he used to be an attack midfielder when he was a kid.

Top managers think his passing ability is good enough to play as midfielder and you disagree?

Regarding tackles: What's different between 56.3 and 57.1? Rudiger has only 16 tackles, jesus christ, the worst. Christensen has 32 tackles, he has the most tackles among all of our CBs.

Regarding the other numbers, Zouma is the best because of his physique, but  I don't think Christensen, Tomori, Rudiger is so different, I'm sure Christensen is not the worst. 

I don't say Christensen is a beast, but people act like Christensen is a 12 years old girl. 

But the success rate of those tackles tells a different story no? What's the point if you make more tackles anyone else but you're less successful at it than anyone else?

And since we're here being all picky about the numbers, then does a difference of 13 or 16 in aerial duels won really means that Christensen is better than Rudiger and Tomori? It could simply be a case of more crosses heading towards Christensen's path than Rudiger and Tomori. 

As you can see from some of those numbers, not one of the center backs have better stats overall than the others. Some have better numbers in 'aspect A' while some are better in 'aspect B' compared to the rest. I'm inclined to leave Tomori out of this since this is his first year playing top flight football and hasn't played much after December for whatever reason but the fact that we don't have a standout center back, a world class one like Terry for example, is the reason why Lampard has constantly chopped and changed the defence. Player A and B will look great in one week and the next, they will look like absolute disasters. 

[Chelsea_firstlove 178]

21 minutes ago, Jason said:

But the success rate of those tackles tells a different story no? What's the point if you make more tackles anyone else but you're less successful at it than anyone else?

 

Trent Arnold is less successfull at crossing than anyone else. Ronaldo is less successfull at shooting than anyone else.

21 minutes ago, Jason said:

And since we're here being all picky about the numbers, then does a difference of 13 or 16 in aerial duels won really means that Christensen is better than Rudiger and Tomori? It could simply be a case of more crosses heading towards Christensen's path than Rudiger and Tomori. 

There is huge different between 50 and 37-34.

Absolutely YES, Christesen is better than Rudiger and Tomori. He has more aerial duels because he's strong enough and he always well positioned, good defensive IQ. Rudiger is overrated. I agree to leave Tomori.

 

[Jase 43,479]

Not sure how true this is but...

 

[Vesper 27,310]

Ethan Ampadu interview: ‘This was the best decision for me and I stick by that’

https://theathletic.com/1762202/2020/04/22/ethan-ampadu-leipzig-chelsea-lampard-wales-euro-2020/

Almost everyone who watches or meets Ethan Ampadu remarks on his poise on the pitch or his maturity off it. Sometimes both.

Ampadu is the Exeter City boy who played men’s football at 15; he is the 16-year-old called up to Wales’ senior squad and the 17-year-old who made his international debut at the Stade de France. Ampadu’s Chelsea debut had come two months earlier, as a replacement for Cesc Fabregas in a Carabao Cup tie. Ampadu has always been ahead of time.

But now, on lockdown in Leipzig, time has stalled.

A harsh comment would be that the same word — stalled — applies to Ampadu’s career. Some will make it, because the noise around professional football can be harsh, too. Flippant judgments are common.

In the case of Ethan Ampadu, they are also premature and ignore some of the facts. Ampadu is still a teenager. He was 18 when arriving on loan from Chelsea at RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga last summer. He is 19 now.

As the number of Premier League clubs who wanted to end his Leipzig loan in January and bring him back to England confirms, within football Ampadu is regarded as having the potential to soar through the next decade at altitude. He has balance, vision and uncommon composure; he can play in midfield as well as defence. His Wales manager Ryan Giggs has called Ampadu “a future leader.”

But, put bluntly, he has not played enough these past nine months in eastern Germany. Ampadu knows it, feels it, so during a conversation from his apartment in Leipzig’s Zentrum area, when the tender question comes regarding his assessment of this loan experience overall, his reply is: “To be honest, mixed. Yeah, I’d say mixed.

“There’s been a lot of frustration at times; however, I’ve learned a lot through those frustrations which will only help me later in my career. I’ve not played as many games as I’d have liked to but in the games I’ve played in, I think I’ve done reasonably well. That’ll give me confidence, but I’ve things to learn from.

“If I’m honest, it’s not been as good as I hoped, not all that I wanted it to be. But I hope technically I’ve improved and, tactically, I’ve now played under another manager. So I’ve learned another style of football and how another manager thinks football should be played.”

At a different point in the discussion, Ampadu says: “Of course I’d have liked to have stayed with Chelsea, but for this season it was the best decision for me and I stick by that.

“I don’t regret coming out here and having these experiences.”

At another point, he starts a reply, halts, tracks back, then says: “It’s quite a difficult question to answer. I need to think about that.”

This is a young man talking, but a thoughtful one. Ethan is the son of Kwame Ampadu, now assisting Thierry Henry at Montreal in the MLS. Kwame began at Arsenal as a teenager and played for West Brom, Swansea and Exeter, among others, before returning to Arsenal as a coach.

Kwame is unquestionably a steadying influence and a different son, a different character, might have pointed out that his season has still managed to include five crucial Euro 2020 qualifiers — Ethan qualifies for Wales via his mother Wendy Thomas — and three appearances in the Champions League.

Ampadu Jnr, though, is prepared to put his foot on the ball metaphorically as well as literally.

Others, however, are in a rush. Fortunately and unfortunately for Ampadu, the excitement which has accompanied him since he was a six-year-old playing under-nines football has brought with it a level of expectation. It is the same for so many promising boys. Yet one difficult season can provoke doubt.

Being selected to start for Wales in midfield last October against World Cup 2018 finalists Croatia — Ampadu faced Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Ivan Perisic — should counter any. He has 13 caps already. And then, for Leipzig, there was Ampadu’s performance in the last-16 Champions League first leg at Tottenham Hotspur in February.

In north London Ampadu started and finished 90 minutes in a Leipzig jersey for the first and only time this season. Spurs, admittedly, had no Harry Kane or Son Heung-min because of injuries, but Ampadu slotted into central defence in a big-occasion match like a natural.

Previously, in November and December, he had started against Benfica in the group stage, then appeared as a substitute in Lyon, but by no means was Ampadu a regular in Julian Nagelsmann’s starting XI.

“You always dream about playing in the Champions League and that’s what happened against Benfica,” Ampadu says.

“Personally, I’d like to have played better, but then you learn from that and that’s why you go on loan. I remember at the edge of our box once I got a bit too tight to their striker and he ended up turning me and running towards goal. I made a slide tackle, but that was something to learn.

“The Lyon game, that was an interesting time to come on because we were winning [2-1] and I think they needed a draw or a win. The atmosphere was, uh, very good. To play in that situation, that was good.”

Benfica, Lyon and Tottenham gave Ampadu three hours of intense, high-calibre football, just as his last seven Wales caps have come in Euros qualifiers. Not many 19-year-olds see such action.

But after Lyon, in Leipzig’s next eight matches, Ampadu was an unused substitute eight times. Two months passed. Then came half an hour as a substitute against Werder Bremen. Nagelsmann obviously knew Dayot Upamecano, their central defender, was suspended for the trip to Spurs four days later.

Even so, as Ampadu says: “Starting at Tottenham? Yeah, that came out of the blue a little bit.

“If you look back on the season, I’m not playing many Leipzig games and this was the Champions League, obviously a big moment for the club.

“I’d come on against Bremen four days before and that gave me a bit more confidence. I knew Upamecano wasn’t able to play, so I had a feeling I might be asked, more to be ready than knowing I would play.

“We’d trained in shape but I wasn’t 100 per cent confirmed that I’d be playing. You can get an idea from training but until the coach says, you don’t know.”

In his pre-match press conference, Nagelsmann informed everyone that Ampadu would play and that a Chelsea loanee would be motivated on his return to London.

“The pressure is on,” Nagelsmann said, “but what player wouldn’t like this? This is what every player dreams about and here’s your opportunity: go and take it.”

Ampadu did. He says his priority on the night was “just trying to get into the game. I’d played in others where you don’t quite get the rhythm so I wanted to be mentally switched-on. I had a few early touches and that calmed me down. That stadium is unreal, fantastic.

“It was my first start in a little while, obviously. I knew I had to concentrate 100 per cent, I was up against high-class players — Lucas Moura with his pace and movement, Dele Alli also. Kane and Son are a miss to any team, but they’d still class players.”

After 45 minutes, Leipzig and Ampadu had established themselves in north London.

“The being-in-London thing, you have to let go, because it can affect you,” he says.

“At half-time the discussion was about how we could keep penetrating and also try to keep a clean sheet. Normal, generic football stuff, really.

“After we scored, we got a bit deeper than we’d have liked and they pressed higher. We didn’t have as much control as in the first half but, defending-wise, I still felt pretty comfortable — as in, comfortable in my role within the team.”

When the final whistle blew on a 1-0 away win, Ampadu says he “felt positive, felt I’d done well. It was tiring, the lungs and legs needed to get used to it.

“I’d a few messages from Chelsea players after.”

Three days on, Upamecano was back in the team away to Schalke. Ampadu was again an unused substitute. Then, in training, he tweaked his lower back. Ampadu was unavailable for the next two matches, the second of which was the 3-0 victory over Tottenham in the second leg.

And then coronavirus hit and football stopped.

---

“My back became an issue after the Schalke game,” Ampadu explains.

“I’m rehabbing. I’ve had a stiff back a few times in the season, but nothing major, nothing to stop me training or anything. I’m not sure how this really started, I didn’t have a knock or contact. It was after the first leg against Tottenham. On the Sunday I pulled up in training.

“If there was a game this weekend, I wouldn’t be fit, but after that, yeah, I hope, some time in May. And I’d definitely be fit for the Euros had they been happening this summer.

“I’d hope to be fit enough if the season comes back. I need to be careful but, in my eyes, I hope to play.”

When, if, the season does resume, Ampadu will remain in Leipzig, part of a squad third in the Bundesliga, five points behind leaders Bayern Munich with nine games remaining, and through to the Champions League quarter-finals. Are the club challengers?

“We must believe so, yes, absolutely,” he says of winning the Bundesliga. “Of course, you never know, the quality we’re up against is high and we still have to chase a little bit. But I don’t see a reason why we wouldn’t believe we can win it.”

And in Europe?

“Are we contenders? Well, it’s a boost to your own ego and in terms of self-confidence, I think you have to feel that way, otherwise there’s no real point in being in it. You have to have that confidence. Winning against Tottenham might have raised that a little bit.”

It was Timo Werner who scored the winner at Tottenham, one of 27 goals in another prolific season for a striker who turned 24 last month.

“I’d heard a lot about him before I came over,” Ampadu says of Werner. “He was in the media in England because of his goals, his pace, his ruthlessness. Over here, I’ve seen that.

“He scores all kinds of goals, he gets in behind, he can run at players with his pace, he’s an exciting player.

“He’s a good bloke. Fairly quiet. I think that’s something here, they’re all fairly quiet, get on with things — although maybe that’s my language barrier and I’ve missed all that.”

He has been taking German lessons, sometimes with former Everton striker Ademola Lookman, who is now at RB Leipzig permanently. But Ampadu is not where he wishes to be with it: “The language barrier has been difficult, but I’m here and I want to learn it. I’m definitely better at listening and understanding the basics rather than speaking it myself.”

The excellent English of the average German makes assimilation easier — “I’ve been made to feel welcome, feel integrated. Leipzig’s a nice city to live in” — plus he has roomed with Lookman and another English speaker, Tyler Adams.

The United States international midfielder from New York state — signed from Major League Soccer’s New York Red Bulls — has, Ampadu says, “become one of my closest friends.

“Obviously when I first joined, his English helped us get to know each other. We’ve bounced off each other all year. He’s helped me settle in. We’ve not actually played together much because he had an injury and then I had one.”

Adams is 21, Lookman 22, Upamecano 21. When Ampadu assessed his position last summer, the Leipzig age profile was relevant.

“I’d other options but when I spoke to Chelsea and my family, Leipzig were an emerging team, young and with a young mentality, it seemed good. And when I got here, you do notice a youthfulness to the players, the coaching staff.”

Coach Nagelsmann, of course, is only 32. He, too, arrived last summer, ahead of Ampadu.

“I’d heard a lot about him before I joined; good, positive reviews. He had a high reputation and one for bringing through and developing young players. That was also a factor in coming here.

“You can see it on the pitch, he’s thoughtful about his tactics, methods. It’s positive and the way the team’s played this season has shown that.

“We had a conversation beforehand, his feeling about me joining the club. That helped me decide where to go.

“I know every manager is keen on pressing and counter-pressing but maybe the way he puts it across comes with more intensity. It’s a different way of playing.”

This current thinking time allows Ampadu to evaluate Nagelsmann’s coaching, along with broader German football and “a year in a different culture.” He has seen the Yellow Wall at Dortmund games, been impressed by the stadiums at Bayern Munich, Schalke and Union Berlin.

That last stadium was Ampadu’s first taste of the Bundesliga. RB Leipzig are a controversial club in Germany, their name, ownership structure and nouveau riche wealth alienates traditional supporters. At Union Berlin, on the season’s opening day last August, home fans staged a silent anti-Red Bull protest for the first 15 minutes of the game. Then, as Ampadu says, “it was like a party — it was an experience for my first German league game.”

Leipzig scored in the 16th minute and won 4-0. It was the first of five wins in six games, revealing the team as real contenders — and, for Ampadu, a tough team to break into.

---

Ultimately, Ethan Ampadu is a Chelsea player. He has a contract at Stamford Bridge until 2023 and hopes to fulfil it. Chelsea’s expansive loan system has received criticism over the years but, for Ampadu, it is part of his education. Carlo Cudicini leads the loan-player department at the club and Ampadu says the former goalkeeper “has been my main point of reference.

“He came out here early on to see how I was, which is nice to know someone’s looking out for you. In football terms, we have a discussion after every game I’ve played in. Even if I’ve played 15 or 10 minutes he’s still gone and found some clips, showed me things I can improve on or where I’ve done well.

“Every Chelsea loan player gets that, I believe; the time and effort that’s put into it is very good.”

Ampadu has had some contact with Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard but is realistic about that and about where he stands in the club.

Asked where he would like to be this month in 2021, Ampadu says: “First I’d like to be fit and healthy, of course, and have played regularly throughout the season in a good competition; improve as a player and as a person; hopefully put myself in contention to make Wales’ Euros squad; I’d be open to another loan move if that’s what’s necessary.

“My end goal is to hopefully one day be a regular at Chelsea, but for now I’ve to think about the now, and do what is needed.”

It is a strange time, a time of stillness, a time of change. Ampadu will return to Chelsea a year older and definitely a year wiser. He will also look different, the dreadlocks from his youth having been shaved off shortly before Christmas by a vogue barber in London.

“It was a big decision,” Ampadu says, “took me a long time, to be honest.

“I did it just before Christmas, when we flew back for the winter break. HD Cutz did it.

“Why?” he laughs, “I don’t actually know. Maybe it was just time for a change. Sometimes I still don’t think I’ve gotten over it. A lot of people said to me about getting it cut for a long time.

“So, I thought, ‘Why not?’”

Remember, he is 19.

[Vesper 27,310]

Ethan Ampadu has given Frank Lampard and Chelsea exactly what they wanted

Chelsea have a decision to make regarding Ampadu’s future but it is one they would rather have than not

https://www.football.london/chelsea-fc/news/ethan-ampadu-given-frank-lampard-18182750

 

 

Chelsea’s loan policy has received its fair share of criticism, including from former players, opposition managers and pundits.

The likes of Lucas Piazon, Mario Pasalic and Matej Delac have all been loaned out multiple times without ever having a real opportunity to break into the first team, never mind make an appearance at Stamford Bridge.

One of the younger Chelsea players currently out on loan who does not fall into that category is Ethan Ampadu. The 19-year-old has already amassed 13 senior caps for Wales as well as having made his Chelsea debut.

At present, he is playing in Germany for title-chasing RB Leipzig.

However, he has found it difficult to break into Julian Nagelsmann's team. Ampadu has played fewer than 300 senior minutes but has started twice in the Champions League, including in the first leg of their round-of-16 win over Tottenham Hotspur.

Nagelsmann has been celebrated for his tactical insight and success with Hoffenheim in various capacities from Under-17 manager up to first team head coach.

The German was a centre back in his playing days and, despite being 32, can offer plenty of sage managerial advice to Ampadu .

Being around the first team setup at a top European club should be beneficial for a player of such a young age, even if first-team opportunities have been limited.It is arguable that had Ampadu remained at Stamford Bridge, he may have seen more minutes than he has in the Bundesliga but it will serve as a growth experience.

He is unlikely to stay at Leipzig beyond this season and murmurings in Germany last month suggested that he would have been tempted to cut the loan short if possible.

It was also reported that he had played his final game for Leipzig but the Bundesliga is planning to return behind closed doors and football.london understands that he will see out the rest of his agreement, which is due to end on June 30.

The question posed to him and Chelsea beyond that is whether he has the requisite quality to step up and have a more involved role next season.

Ampadu is one of the club’s most impressive teenagers and it is unlikely he will succumb to the fate of many Chelsea players on the loan system merry-go-round.

It helps that Lampard has made it clear through his team selection that he is eager to give opportunities to young players.

Chelsea do have a short-term decision to make regarding Ampadu’s future but it is one they would rather have than not; blood another bright talent in their first team or carefully assess where would be a good loan for his development.

snip

[Tomo 21,681]

8 minutes ago, Vesper said:

Ethan Ampadu has given Frank Lampard and Chelsea exactly what they wanted

Chelsea have a decision to make regarding Ampadu’s future but it is one they would rather have than not

https://www.football.london/chelsea-fc/news/ethan-ampadu-given-frank-lampard-18182750

 

 

Chelsea’s loan policy has received its fair share of criticism, including from former players, opposition managers and pundits.

The likes of Lucas Piazon, Mario Pasalic and Matej Delac have all been loaned out multiple times without ever having a real opportunity to break into the first team, never mind make an appearance at Stamford Bridge.

One of the younger Chelsea players currently out on loan who does not fall into that category is Ethan Ampadu. The 19-year-old has already amassed 13 senior caps for Wales as well as having made his Chelsea debut.

At present, he is playing in Germany for title-chasing RB Leipzig.

However, he has found it difficult to break into Julian Nagelsmann's team. Ampadu has played fewer than 300 senior minutes but has started twice in the Champions League, including in the first leg of their round-of-16 win over Tottenham Hotspur.

Nagelsmann has been celebrated for his tactical insight and success with Hoffenheim in various capacities from Under-17 manager up to first team head coach.

The German was a centre back in his playing days and, despite being 32, can offer plenty of sage managerial advice to Ampadu .

Being around the first team setup at a top European club should be beneficial for a player of such a young age, even if first-team opportunities have been limited.It is arguable that had Ampadu remained at Stamford Bridge, he may have seen more minutes than he has in the Bundesliga but it will serve as a growth experience.

He is unlikely to stay at Leipzig beyond this season and murmurings in Germany last month suggested that he would have been tempted to cut the loan short if possible.

It was also reported that he had played his final game for Leipzig but the Bundesliga is planning to return behind closed doors and football.london understands that he will see out the rest of his agreement, which is due to end on June 30.

The question posed to him and Chelsea beyond that is whether he has the requisite quality to step up and have a more involved role next season.

Ampadu is one of the club’s most impressive teenagers and it is unlikely he will succumb to the fate of many Chelsea players on the loan system merry-go-round.

It helps that Lampard has made it clear through his team selection that he is eager to give opportunities to young players.

Chelsea do have a short-term decision to make regarding Ampadu’s future but it is one they would rather have than not; blood another bright talent in their first team or carefully assess where would be a good loan for his development.

snip

My personal preference would be to sign a top class CB with Tomori and Ampadu rotating based on form but in reality Ampadu will probably take Christensen's place as back up.

[OneMoSalah 8,614]

Must admit I am still surprised Sarri didnt use him as a CB. He looked very good in pre season, comfortable in playing out but Luiz and Rudiger were always gonna be his preferred pairing I felt. Again keeping Zouma was a surprise for me, I felt that Frank would of sold him and used Ethan but maybe he will next season. Or will find him another loan.

[Jase 43,479]

 

[Jase 43,479]

 

[Strike 6,961]

What happens to him next season?

[Vesper 27,310]

5 minutes ago, Strike said:

What happens to him next season?

loan to an EPL club where he gets a lot of playing time

[killer1257 3,282]

loan to an EPL club where he gets a lot of playing time

Is he even fit now?

Gesendet von meinem VOG-L29 mit Tapatalk

[Vesper 27,310]

9 minutes ago, killer1257 said:

Is he even fit now?

Gesendet von meinem VOG-L29 mit Tapatalk
 

I do not know TBH

I am thoroughly unimpressed with him atm

he better turn it around soon and at least play

I know he is young, but I am just so tired of all these constantly injured players

 

Ampadu won’t play in Champions League and another loan is possible

https://theathletic.co.uk/1935897/2020/07/20/ornstein-havertz-chelsea-pochettino-eze-qpr-monaco-warnock-middlesbrough/

Werner is not the only player to depart Red Bull Leipzig for Chelsea in the last few weeks. Chelsea loanee Ethan Ampadu has also returned to his parent club.

Ampadu was on a season-long loan in Germany and will not be part of Leipzig’s squad for the Champions League quarter-final against Atletico Madrid next month.

The 19-year-old had an up-and-down time in the Bundesliga and did not play as many games as he and Chelsea thought he would. That his outstanding performance against Tottenham in the last 16 of the Champions League in London was followed by injury didn’t help. The big decision for the teenager and Chelsea is whether next season he embarks on another loan or stays in west London to fight for a place in Lampard’s squad.

It is understood that, as with last summer, there are plenty of suitors from the Premier League, the Championship and elsewhere in Europe, should the decision be for him to again go on loan. Determined to make an impact with Wales at the delayed Euro 2020 next summer, Ampadu is eager to play as many minutes as possible next season.

There are plenty of Chelsea fans who would like to see him given a sustained run at Stamford Bridge. No doubt Lampard and he will consider what’s best for him in the coming weeks.

[ja1 1,166]

3 hours ago, Vesper said:

loan to an EPL club where he gets a lot of playing time

I would be happy with him going and consolidating his game in the Championship. It’s the same type of loan I’ve been suggesting for him for the last 18 months lol (I think he should have got a loan like this as early as Jan 2018).

 

Mount, Tomori, Abraham, James, and now Gallagher have all had a lot of success for their development, going to the Championship and playing regularly, I don’t see why Ampadu can’t follow suit. He is 20 this season, barely made 10 league appearances. He is of course still young but another season where he barely plays will be detrimental. Just give him a low risk loan (that, as said, clearly works) in Championship, a 3000-4000 minute season where he will actually play regularly. 

 

I get this type of regular gametime *could*happen with a Premier League loan. And if it did it is pretty much ideal for us and for Ampadu. But even for promoted teams it is just low probability he gets regular PL gametime I feel. It is rare for such an inexperienced player, especially on loan, to just get into a top team like that. I know it does happen (eg. AC at Mochengladbach) but given Ampadu has already had that type of aggressive loan at Leipzig which didn’t work (seriously baffles me anyone expected it to but that’s a different story) let’s just chill with him, and let him settle his game in the Championship.