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Three big questions: Chelsea’s Ethan Ampadu and the up hill battle

By Travis Tyler

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 19: Ethan Ampadu of RB Leipzig during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg match between Tottenham Hotspur and RB Leipzig at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on February 19, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 19: Ethan Ampadu of RB Leipzig during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg match between Tottenham Hotspur and RB Leipzig at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on February 19, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 24: Ethan Ampadu of Chelsea during the Carabao Cup Semi-Final Second Leg match between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on January 24, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 24: Ethan Ampadu of Chelsea during the Carabao Cup Semi-Final Second Leg match between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on January 24, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images) /

Chelsea’s Ethan Ampadu has vowed to stay and fight for a spot this season. What questions should be asked of him ahead of the season?

Ethan Ampadu has had a rough go of things in the last two years, but he wants to stay and fight for his spot at Chelsea. He does fill a spot that is very much in need for the Blues, but he also needs playing time after so little in recent seasons. He faces an uphill battle to make it without a loan. What questions should be asked ahead of the new season?

1. What happened over the last two seasons?

Ampadu found himself playing against Premier League caliber teams under Antonio Conte. The Italian would use the Welshman in the back three and despite his age, the youngster looked right at home.

The next Italian manager disagreed. Maurizio Sarri found no place for Ampadu in his plans. Ampadu played more for the Welsh National Team than he did Sarri in the same time span. Injury may have hampered the second half of his campaign, but there was really no indication that he would get anything close to a look.

When Frank Lampard arrived, he had a look at Ampadu but it was decided that he needed playing time more than he needed to stay. An ambitious loan to RB Leipzig was set up under new manager Julian Nagelsmann. The German wunderkind manager had traditionally used a 3-5-2 before Leipzig, so it was expected the same would hold true at Leipzig and Ampadu would have a place.

It didn’t. Nagelsmann stuck with the Redbull world wide 4-4-2 and Ampadu found himself on the outside looking in. Injury again hampered his season and that is when Nagelsmann started switching things up in formation. But even when Ampadu returned, he had fallen down the depth chart. He played occasionally, but never often enough to justify staying.

Ampadu has now barely played for two seasons. When he has played, he has usually been excellent or at least good. He could help Frank Lampard’s side, but he also needs playing time now more than ever. That is a tricky proposition at Chelsea, but one Ampadu is willing to stay and fight for.

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