5 Players who could flourish at Chelsea due to their transfer ban

#4 Ethan Ampadu

Chelsea could offer talented youngster Ethan Ampadu more minutes following the transfer ban

Welsh teenager Ethan Ampadu – recruited from Exeter City during the summer of 2017 after making several starts at that club as a 15-year old – is one of the most highly rated youngsters currently at Chelsea and not away on loan. It’s been disappointing therefore that he’s been largely starved of minutes this season, appearing just 5 times – in 3 Europa League games and 2 FA Cup ties.

What makes this even more curious is Ampadu’s versatility – he’s able to play as both a central defender and as a holding midfielder, and has performed well in both roles for the Wales senior side, who he’s appeared for 4 times this season, most notably starring in their 4-1 win over the Republic of Ireland in September.

Given Chelsea defenders like David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger have hardly performed brilliantly this season – and with former captain Gary Cahill now largely frozen out of the squad and edging towards the end of his career – it’s baffling as to why Ampadu hasn’t been used more often, given his clear talent, particularly when it comes to passing accuracy – he’s got a success rate of 91.7% in his Europa League games.

But if Luiz and Rudiger continue to fail to impress, there’s no reason why the Welshman can’t break into the first team and thrive next season – after all, the Blues won’t be able to go out and simply buy a new central defender as they have done in the past. And realistically, they don’t need to – Ampadu is more than talented enough to replace either man in the starting XI.