Chelsea own a defender that ranks alongside the best Under-21s players from World Cup qualifying in Europe this year.
Ethan Ampadu, who’s been loaned out by Chelsea this season, makes the starting XI put together by football statisticians Who Scored. The 21-year-old is part of Who Scored’s best line-up due to his eye-catching displays for his country Wales.
They’ve compiled a line-up of the best performing players aged 21 and under during Europe’s qualifiers for the World Cup next year.
Ampadu spent his loan spell with Italian club Venezia this season in midfield, but has made himself a regular centre-back for Rob Page’s Wales.
He earned an impressive overall score of 7.07 for his performances in the World Cup qualifiers. The versatile centre-half started six of the eight group stages fixtures for Wales, missing this week’s 1-1 draw with Belgium through suspension.
Meanwhile, Chelsea full-back Reece James is included for his England performances. Also, Blues youngster Billy Gilmour makes it for his Scotland efforts, despite the fact he’s struggling out on loan with Norwich City at club level.
Ampadu looks exactly like the right profile for Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel, however, he’s not played a game under the German boss. He was unable to force his way into Tuchel’s plans during pre-season, so ended up moving to Italy this campaign to continue his development in Serie A.
He recently revealed that he’s constantly getting feedback from Chelsea about his displays out on loan, but is unclear on his long-term future.
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