Ethan Ampadu Eager to Fight for His Place at Chelsea
By Tom Gott
Chelsea youngster Ethan Ampadu is determined to avoid another loan move away from Stamford Bridge despite a host of offers, as he wants to use pre-season to fight for a place under Frank Lampard.
The 19-year-old Welshman, who is comfortable in both defence and midfield, spent last season with RB Leipzig in Germany, but he was limited to just seven appearances in all competitions, including just 78 minutes of Bundesliga action.
There is an acceptance that Ampadu needs regular game time this season to ensure his development does not hit a wall and, according to Goal, he wants that game time to be at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea are yet to push another loan move on Ampadu, leaving the door open to a possible stay, although with Fulham and Norwich City both understood to be keen on landing him, that situation may change as Chelsea step up their preparations for the new season.
Lampard is known to be a huge fan of Ampadu, having admitted when he first joined Chelsea that he was disappointed to see the teenager had already put pen to paper on a move elsewhere, so it seems plausible that he could see plenty of action in pre-season.
It's news which will certain sections of Chelsea fans, many of whom see Ampadu as the perfect solution to the Blues' defensive woes this season.
The tough-tackling teenager has been praised for his maturity and leadership ever since making his breakthrough at Exeter City when he was just 15 years old, and with Lampard looking out for those qualities, it seems like a match made in heaven on paper.
Chelsea have been linked with big-money moves for the likes of West Ham's Declan Rice and Atlético Madrid's José Giménez, but the advantage of turning to Ampadu is that he wouldn't cost the club a penny.
With Lampard hopeful of adding Bayer Leverkusen's Kai Havertz, a new goalkeeper and a new left-back, there simply may not be any extra money lying around to pursue a top centre-back, which is where Ampadu could come in.
While his top-level experience is minimal, he does boast 13 senior caps for Wales and did earn himself plenty of fans with a stellar showing in the Champions League against Tottenham Hotspur for Leipzig this season.
A decision is yet to be made on Ampadu's future, but with the teenager keen on staying and Lampard eager to work with him, expect to see Ampadu feature heavily over the summer.