English Premier League side, Chelsea has a few hours ago, confirmed the transfer of Ethan Ampadu to the German Bundesliga side, RB Leipzig on a season-long loan.
The move of Ethan Ampadu is not coming as a surprise to many, given the number of on-loan players that have returned to the club under the new manager, Frank Lampard. This move could also be him making room for the likes of Kourt Zouma who had a good season with Everton last season, as he looks to finally return to Chelsea and stake a claim to a jersey under the new manager, and former teammate, Frank Lampard who has assured him of a starting place in the new season.
According to the statement by the club, Ampadu since joining Chelsea became the eighth youngest debutant of all time when he played a Carabao Cup game that September and the midfielder/central defender has been part of the Chelsea squad ever since. He also became a full Wales international shortly after his Blues debut, but last season was cut short by a back problem which caused him to withdraw from an international call-up and then miss club action from our Europa League win against Malmo in February onwards.
Although Ampadu recovered sufficiently to make the trip to Baku for the final, he was not involved in the match but subsequently played two European Championship qualifiers for Wales last month. Now he has the chance to develop by playing top-level football in the Bundesliga and Champions League this coming campaign. Leipzig finished third in the German top-flight last season behind Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
His loan move comes after he signed a new five-year contract with the club in September 2018
Frank Lampard speaking on the loan move by Ampadu while speaking to the club website, said:
‘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.
‘I really wanted to work with Ethan this year. That’s a slight disappointment, but it’s to benefit of him. In midfield and defence, we have a lot of quality, so each player is a case by case.’ he said.