Ethan Ampadu’s Performance for Wales and what it means for Chelsea

Ampadu played as a defensive midfielder for Wales contributing as a buffer in front of the backline. Being comfortable with both feet, Ampadu fits nicely as a defensive midfielder or a holding midfielder who would execute play from the back. The 17-year-old often played as a centre-back for Chelsea last season showing his remarkable defensive promptness coupled with one-touch and flick passes. He was quick to break into midfield to connect with ongoing play. Now playing as a defensive midfielder against the Republic of Ireland shows how versatile the Welshman is. His positional adaptability is vital to not only his career growth but also to Chelseas boss Sarri who would need back-ups like Ampadu ready in his talent pool as the season gets more intense.

Ampadu is very much into passing, short dribbling and forward thinking. His display as a Blue showed that already just as his displays for Wales have, especially the recent one against the Republic of Ireland with 67 per cent accuracy in forward passes and 82 per cent accuracy in overall passes played, as per Wyscout.com.

Whats added to Ampadus passing talent is his ability to control the ball while moving. For that, he uses spaces around him to maintain control of the ball while moving. He also uses flick passes quickly which keeps the game flowing. Against Ireland too, he often slowed down his dribbling, but still kept it going, just to look for passing options and take the decision accordingly. In short, he is keen to keep the ball moving. In the pictures below, Ampadu receives a pass from his teammate and before he gets closed down by the presser, he passes it right away to his open teammate to keep the ball moving in a more favourable area.