Ryan Giggs believes a temporary switch from Chelsea could be beneficial for the development of Ethan Ampadu.
Ampadu put in a man-of-the-match performance in a Wales shirt last month as Gigg’s side won 1-0 against the Republic of Ireland before starting again in the 2-0 defeat versus Denmark in their UEFA Nations League Group C fixtures. The next international break sees the Welsh manager call up the 18-year-old into the Dragons’ squad yet again as they tackle Spain in a friendly before taking on the Republic of Ireland once again in the Nations League.
The talented Blues youngster is seen as one of the game’s emerging talents and has recently stamped his signature on an improved five-year contract at the west London club. But while the versatile defender, who could also play in midfield, has a keen admirer in Maurizio Sarri, he is yet to make a senior appearance for Chelsea this campaign.
With David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger the preferred central defensive partnership by the former Napoli manager, Ampadu has found first-team opportunities hard to come by and while Giggs thinks regular playing time with the Chelsea U23s is good, he stressed the need for Ampadu to be playing at the highest level.
“He’s playing games in younger groups, so he is getting matches, but that’s the difficulty that we’ve seen with [Ben] Woodburn, with Harry Wilson, with Ethan, when they’re at big clubs where are they going to get their games?”
“Whether they go out on loan, Ethan’s a little bit younger than the lads I’ve mentioned, but I was more than pleased with how he turned up in the last camp and he showed that in games,” said the Wales manager.
“I understand that [Sarri wants to nurture him there] he’s only just turned 18, he’s got plenty of time and he’s at a good club that are doing really well at the moment.
“No matter how good a player I think he is or how much I think of him, he’s got a job to get in that team at the moment because they’re doing so well.”
