Ethan Ampadu is now officially a Chelsea youth player, with the first substantial rumours of a club wanting him on loan next season. The Blues should consider an exception for Ampadu and allow him to bypass the usual loan pathway.
Ethan Ampadu is an undeniably exceptional talent. He made his senior level debut at age 15 for Exeter City. In his first season at Chelsea FC, having turned 17 in September, he has played 20% of his minutes in Blue with the first team across three competitions.
During Tuesday’s Checkatrade Trophy semifinal, Ampadu looked more at home facing Lincoln City’s first team than he did among his fellow U21’s. Among the spectators for the match was a scout from Derby City. The Evening Standard reports the scout was there specifically to watch Ampadu, as the Rams look to bolster their squad in preparation a likely return to the Premier League.
Chelsea’s issues in their defensive spine can open important doors for Ampadu. Neither Gary Cahill nor David Luiz has shown themselves in recent weeks to be up the task of filling in for the injured Andreas Christensen.
N’Golo Kante is the only solid defensive option for central midfield, but tasking him to remain deep and protect the defence takes away too much of his game. Kante is most valuable as a box-to-box midfielder, where is speed, energy and ball-handling can propel the Blues on both sides of the ball and in transition. Cesc Fabregas is too offensively-oriented to allow Kante to play and remain high up the pitch. Danny Drinkwater and Ross Barkley are regularly injured. And the less said about Tiemoue Bakayoko, the better.
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Ampadu has played as centre-back and central defensive midfielder. With Antonio Conte dabbling in a four-man defence, Ampadu could be perfect for the deep-lying central midfield “destroyer.” He would reinforce the two centre-backs in such a formation, complementing Andreas Christensen’s solid defensive presence while allowing Antonio Rudiger to play a bit more freely.
Ampadu would also, then, enable N’Golo Kante to cover the true box-to-box range. In turn, that would allow Fabregas or Barkley to play as a true regista and central attacking midfielder, respectively. The young Welshman also has considerable long passing ability, which he could offer as another option to move the ball out from the back or joining in the play moving forward.
Chelsea loanees are an attractive option for newly-promoted teams. The displaced Blues offer quality and some experience without a major outlay, an important hedge for clubs unwilling to assume large financial obligations if they risk a quick return to the Championship. Derby County understandably want Ethan Ampadu, and he would likely gain a full season’s worth of playing time and experience.
However, if there is one thing Antonio Conte has learned in his time on the job, it is not to expect anyone new to come in during the summer. At least not anyone high on his list. Conte will submit his list of desired players to help solve his central defence issues. But come the end of the transfer window, Ampadu may remain his best option.
Ethan Ampadu is a known quantity at Stamford Bridge. He has already leap-frogged everyone in his nominal cohort, and probably spends more time training under Antonio Conte than Joe Edwards. Conte trusts Ampadu to an incredible extent and, based on the first team’s recent performances, he may turn to Ampadu more and more frequently.
Chelsea have their templates and development standards, notably the 150-200 senior-level appearances rule. However, if a player is so far above the norm and if the needs of the squad are so acute, rigidly adhering to these templates is counter-productive. Ethan Ampadu may not need 150-200 senior-level appearances to be ready for 30 more with Chelsea next season. It would be quite ironic if Chelsea’s youth development success is a player who came to Chelsea as a teenager and spent minimal time actually in the Academy system.
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Fortunately for Derby County, Chelsea have plenty of other youngsters they can offer out on loan.