By Danny Wright

8th Jun, 2022 | 5:37pm

View: Will Ethan Ampadu be part of Thomas Tuchel’s plans at Chelsea next season?

By Joshua Slack

Ethan Ampadu was part of the Wales side which qualified for their first World Cup since 1958, but will the versatile defender be part of Thomas Tuchel’s plans for Chelsea moving forward?

The 21-year-old has matured enormously over the course of the last few seasons and his composure on the ball and passing accuracy oozes class and it now begs the question of whether Tuchel will include him in his plans moving forward?

Since signing a five-year contract with Chelsea following his move from Exeter, the Welshman has featured just once in the Premier League and has had loan spells with Red Bull Leipzig, Sheffield United and most recently, Venezia in Serie A.

Whilst plying his trade in Serie A, Ampadu received rave reviews for his vision and ability to read the game and break-up play. He also played in various positions for Venezia and fitted their style of play to a suit.

During his time at the Italian side, Ampadu went on to make 29 appearances and he also chipped in with three assists. At Venezia he proved he is now more confident on the ball and his glowing praises could mean he has a future at Chelsea.

And the former Exeter youngster has expressed his desire to play football ahead of Wales’ World Cup campaign.

As quoted by Football.London on 5 June, he said: “As a footballer, you want to play in every game, and as a kid, I loved playing every game.

“It does help on big occasions [playing week in and week out], but week by week, you want to play football. Nobody likes to sit and watch it.”

Ampadu is a great defender, and he has proven that in loan spells, but it appears if he isn’t promised enough game-time by Tuchel, he could move this summer.

He is a supremely gifted footballer, although sometimes – he lets himself down with his discipline and during his spell at Venezia, he picked up 12 yellow cards and two red cards.

This is something which can be rectified with age and maturity, but Ampadu deserves a regular first XI spot, whether that is at Chelsea or elsewhere.

 You can tell he has a great desire to play football and make an impact for his club and country.

Now it is up to Ampadu to showcase that on the training pitch at Chelsea and give Tuchel a dilemma to make and with Antonio Rudiger already sealing a free transfer move to Real Madrid, there is a void in defence which needs filling.

Whether Tuchel thinks Ampadu is up to the task of playing week-in, week-out at the heart of Chelsea’s defence, is an entirely different matter.

In other Chelsea news, the Blues are interested in a goalkeeper at Chicago Fire.