Ampadu back in spotlight as the Bundesliga action returns
THE Bundesliga is set to return this weekend with the eyes of the footballing world on Germany.
Football on the continent - and indeed sport around the globe - has been at a standstill due to the coronavirus pandemic, with leagues on hold up until this point.
But German authorities have given the green light for games to resume behind closed doors, with the league viewed as Europe’s guinea pig ahead of other competitions returning in the coming weeks and months.
Welsh football fans will have a particular interest as matches get back under way in Germany, with Ethan Ampadu and Rabbi Matondo plying their trades for RB Leipzig and Schalke respectively.
The former is on loan from parent club Chelsea, and the move to the German outfit was heralded as a defining point in his burgeoning career to date.
This is where Ampadu was expected to kick on, to showcase his tremendous ability that Wales fans know all about. Except it hasn’t quite worked out like that.
Leipzig are chasing the title in Germany but the Exeter product has found it difficult to break into Julian Nagelsmann’s team.
He has fewer than 300 minutes under his belt. He did, though, excel when thrown in against Tottenham in the Champions League earlier this season but opportunities have been limited, something which he acknowledges.
“There’s been a lot of frustration at times; however, I’ve learned a lot through those frustrations which will only help me later in my career,” Ampadu told The Athletic.
“I’ve not played as many games as I’d have liked to but in the games I’ve played in, I think I’ve done reasonably well. That’ll give me confidence, but I’ve things to learn from.
“If I’m honest, it’s not been as good as I hoped, not all that I wanted it to be. But I hope technically I’ve improved and, tactically, I’ve now played under another manager.
“So I’ve learned another style of football and how another manager thinks football should be played.”
Just two starts and seven appearances in total will not be music to the ears of Frank Lampard and those in the corridors of power at Stamford Bridge. They would have wanted more game-time for their teenager.
Aston Villa were heavily linked with Ampadu last summer, particularly due to the John Terry link at Villa Park, and in a hypothetical situation you wonder whether a move to the Midlands would have proved more beneficial for him.
Of course, we’ll never know that, but opportunities is what he is lacking. It certainly isn’t ability.
The first-leg European game against Spurs stands out and is testament to what the teenager is capable of. “Starting at Tottenham? Yeah, that came out of the blue a little bit,” Ampadu added.
“It was my first start in a little while, obviously. I knew I had to concentrate 100 per cent, I was up against highclass players – Lucas Moura with his pace and movement, Dele Alli also. [Harry] Kane and Son [Heung-min] are a miss to any team, but they still [have] class players.
“[I] felt positive, felt I’d done well. It was tiring, the lungs and legs needed to get used to it.”
Having to compete with Dayot Upamecano, one of Europe’s most highly-rated centre-backs, and working with Nagelsmann will no doubt have helped in terms of Ampadu’s development; one can sometimes forget that he is still a teenager, despite being around for what seems like years, and that niggly injuries have curtailed his progression.
Lampard is a champion of youth, and that will surely play into Ampadu’s hands ahead of next season. Chelsea’s loan policy has been heavily criticised in recent years but one gets the sense that they know exactly what a talent they have in the Welshman.
In recent days there has been reports of Turkish side Trabzonspor and former Chelsea coach Eddie Newton making a play for him next season on loan. What will happen to Ampadu in the medium and long term remains to be seen, but in the short term he has a big opportunity to show what he can do when the German league resumes this weekend.
Leipizg host SC Freiburg on Saturday with the eyes focused on the Bundesliga. Those of a Chelsea - and Welsh - persuasion will be keeping one firmly on Ampadu.