Ethan Ampadu’s talent has never been in doubt. The young Welshman came to Chelsea as a highly rated kid, and his cameos at the club have rarely been anything less than impressive.
A loan to RB Leipzig was a very hopeful one last season, but it didn’t work out, making this season’s spell at Sheffield United even more crucial.
In an interview with Yorkshire Live, Ampadu revealed exactly what his manager Frank Lampard had told him ahead of the move:
“I respect him a lot, what he has done in the game and him being the Chelsea manager,” Ampadu explained.
“So when we had the conversation, he expressed the importance of playing games, which I expressed to him as well because in the last couple of seasons I had not played a lot,” the midfielder went on.
“He said that he felt this was a good option. He gave me the confidence believing in this place.
“He said he wants to see me play games in the Premier League, so hopefully that what’s I can do.”
There’s no doubt that the priority now is getting games. He’s played more matches for Wales than for clubs since the start of his career, a frankly insane stat that could only occur in unique circumstances like this.
He probably learned a lot in Germany without playing much – the important thing now is to take all that learning and add to it the experience of playing week in, week out in the Premier League.
Frank Lampard knows that, Ethan knows that, we know that. Let’s hope Chris Wilder obliges and gives him the time on the pitch he needs.
