16-year-old wonderkid Ethan Ampadu is highly sought-after and Chelsea are confident of signing him ahead of Arsenal, despite the fact Ampadu's father is a coach at the north London club.
TheMirrorreports thatChelsea have launched a bid in the region of £2m for the defensive midfielder, who made hisprofessional debut for Exeter Cityat just 15 years and 331 days oldagainst Brentford an EFL Cup tie - becomingthe club's youngest ever player. Remarkably in the same game he was also nominated as man of the match.
Ethan Ampadu is a defensive midfielder and caught #Chelsea's eye when he played against them in the Checkatrade Trophy last month. [Mirror]
Kawme Ampaduis the youngster's father and holds a position at Arsenal as the U18s coach and will do all he can to guilt his son into joining him there. Chelsea however, will be intent on ruining what would be a family reunion.
The 16-year-oldplayed1 game for England U16s before choosing to snub them and play for Wales instead. Since he hasbeencapped at U17 and U19 level for Wales and this year even won Wales' young Player of the Year award.
Chelsea first noticed the youngster's talent in a fixture against Exeter in the new and improved Checkatrade Trophy last month.
Signing Ampadu would be a step in the right direction for Chelsea as they look to increase their number of home grown players.
However, with Chelsea's infamous system of choosing to loan out young players rather than give them an opportunity in the first team, would this be the right move for the youngster?