Andreas Christensen and Ethan Ampadu battle to be Chelsea’s heir

Gary Cahill’s rapidly approaching departure and David Luiz’s age leaves a gap to be filled at Chelsea. Will Andreas Christensen or Ethan Ampadu win out?

Two massive developments occurred during the end of Michael Emenalo’s Chelsea reign. The first was that Andreas Christensen, after two long years on loan in Germany, finally broke the glass between Chelsea academy player and Chelsea starter. At the same time, the Blues had acquired a young yet fantastic player in Ethan Ampadu.

Despite everything else that happened last season, Antonio Conte attempted to play the kids as much as he could. Christensen earned his trust as did Ampadu (in rotation). But fast forward to now and things have taken a step backwards for both under Maurizio Sarri.

Christensen is no longer as trusted and Ampadu is back to being just another youth player. New managers rarely trust the youngest players so this should be of no surprise. If both are patient, a spot will open for them. But it may only be the one spot and the battle between the two has only just begun.

Gary Cahill will be allowed to spend his last few months under Chelsea contract on loan if he so chooses. David Luiz is not getting any younger despite Sarri trusting him completely. So very soon, a spot on the bench will open and soon after a starting role. Christensen and Ampadu will fight directly over it.

Christensen is the more experience and conservative of the two players. His time at Gladbach improved him immensely and made him a cool customer. Perhaps too cool. He often is a little too complacent when under pressure and does not really have the physicality to hold an opponent off.

Ampadu, meanwhile, is more akin to the current pairing of David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger. He is more aggressive in his tackles and in his positioning. He passing range matches that of Christensen’s, but rather than keeping it short, Ampadu will look to play it long and accurately.

Both also fulfill similar roles for their national teams as well. The two go back and forth between midfield and defense for the Danish and Welsh sides. Coincidentally, the two share the same Nations League group and will square off a few times yet.

The ability to shuttle between defense and midfield will be of slight note to Maurizio Sarri as he considers the future after Luiz and Cahill. On paper, Ampadu would be the most natural replacement for Luiz, but his lack of experience may be held against him. Christensen has that experience, but his conservatism is sure to be held against him (and clearly already has been).

Christensen is winning the rotational battle currently but Ampadu will not go down without a fight. If Cahill does leave in January, both are likely to step into the rotation. From there, they will fight over their futures to fill in for Luiz. The Brazilian is running out of time on his contract and how the young defenders play could influence whether he stays or goes.

Chelsea as a club is slowly becoming more and more about direct squad battles between two similar players. This is improving the players but at some point someone will need to win out. Ampadu and Christensen can start their path to victory in their Nations League match.