Ethan Ampadu

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Ethan Ampadu
Ethan Ampadu With Wales 2020 .jpg
Ampadu with Wales in 2020
Personal information
Full name Ethan Kwame Colm Raymond Ampadu [1]
Date of birth (2000-09-14) 14 September 2000 (age 24) [2]
Place of birth Exeter, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.82 m) [3]
Position(s) Centre-back, defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
Leeds United
Number 4
Youth career
2008–2016 Exeter City
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2016–2017 Exeter City 8 (0)
2017–2023 Chelsea 1 (0)
2019–2020RB Leipzig (loan) 3 (0)
2020–2021Sheffield United (loan) 25 (0)
2021–2022Venezia (loan) 29 (0)
2022–2023Spezia (loan) 31 (0)
2023– Leeds United 49 (0)
International career
2015–2016 Wales U17 6 (0)
2016 Wales U19 3 (0)
2017– Wales 54 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:18, 23 August 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:29, 9 September 2024 (UTC)

Ethan Kwame Colm Raymond Ampadu (born 14 September 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or defensive midfielder for and captains EFL Championship club Leeds United and the Wales national team.

Contents

Ampadu went to Ladysmith Junior School and joined Exeter City's academy at the age of 7. Having come up through the academy, Ampadu became the youngest player to appear for the first team at age 15. He joined Chelsea in July 2017, where he went out on loan to German club RB Leipzig, before suffering consecutive relegations at Sheffield United and then at Italian sides Venezia and Spezia. In July 2023, Ampadu joined Leeds United on a permanent transfer. [4]

Ampadu is a Welsh international. He played for Wales at under-16, under-17 and under-19 level before making his senior debut for Wales in November 2017. He represented Wales at UEFA Euro 2020 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Exeter City

Born in Exeter, Devon, Ampadu is the son of former professional footballer Kwame Ampadu. [5] A product of the Exeter City youth academy, appearing for the under-18 squad at the age of 14, [6] he made his senior debut – aged 15 years, 10 months and 26 days – in an EFL Cup first round match against Brentford at St James Park on 9 August 2016, playing the full 120 minutes of a 1–0 victory. [7] He became the club's youngest ever player, breaking an 87-year-old record set by Cliff Bastin, and being named man of the match. [8] [9] [10] Ampadu's record was beaten by Ben Chrisene in August 2019. [11] A week later, he made his league debut in a 1–0 home defeat against Crawley Town in EFL League Two. [12]

Chelsea

Ampadu with Chelsea in 2017 Ethan Ampadu 2017.jpg
Ampadu with Chelsea in 2017
Ethan Ampadu training before 2019 UEFA Europa League final Chelsea players training before 2019 UEFA Europa League final 06 (cropped).jpg
Ethan Ampadu training before 2019 UEFA Europa League final

On 1 July 2017, Ampadu signed a contract with Premier League club Chelsea. The two clubs had entered negotiations over a compensation fee for the player in an attempt to reach a fee that both found acceptable for the then 16-year-old. Yet, in November 2017, Exeter City chairman Julian Tagg said that, whilst there was still a positive relationship between the two clubs, there was also a "massive disparity" in both clubs' valuation of the player. It was set to go to a tribunal. [13]

On 20 September 2017, Ampadu made his debut for Chelsea in an EFL Cup third round match against Nottingham Forest, coming on in the 55th minute for Cesc Fàbregas. [14] Doing so made him the first player born in the 2000s to play for the Chelsea senior team. At 17 years and six days old, he also became the youngest player to debut for the club in over ten years. [15] On 12 December 2017, he made his Premier League debut for Chelsea, coming on as a substitute against Huddersfield Town in the 80th minute. [16]

In September 2018 he signed a new five-year contract with Chelsea. [17]

In July 2019, new manager Frank Lampard confirmed that Ampadu would spend the 2019–20 season out on loan at another club. [18] In that period, Ampadu joined RB Leipzig on a season-long loan deal. [19]

On 7 September 2020, Ampadu joined fellow Premier League club Sheffield United on a season-long loan. [20] He played 29 games in all competitions for the Blades, who were relegated at the end of the season. [21]

On 31 August 2021, Ampadu joined Italian side Venezia on a season-long loan after signing a new three-year deal with Chelsea. [22] Venezia were relegated at the end of the season.

On 1 September 2022, Ampadu joined Spezia on a season-long loan. [23] Spezia finished the Serie A season in 17th place, meaning they had to play Hellas Verona, the 18th placed team, in a one-off relegation play-off in Sassuolo's Mapei Stadium. Spezia went behind after 5 minutes, even though Ampadu equalised 10 minutes later, scoring his first goal in the professional game in the process, he couldn't prevent a 1–3 loss which relegates Spezia. [24]

Leeds United

On 19 July 2023, Ampadu joined Leeds United on a four-year contract [25] for a reported fee of £7m plus performance-related add-ons. [26] On 6 August 2023, he made his debut for the club in a 2–2 draw against Cardiff City in the EFL Championship. [27] On 7 January 2024, he scored his first two goals for Leeds United in a 3–0 win over Peterborough in a 3rd round FA Cup tie. [28] On 23 July 2024, Ampadu was named as the club's captain. [29]

International career

Ampadu plays internationally for the Wales national football team. He qualifies for Wales through his Welsh mother. [30] He was previously also eligible to represent England, Republic of Ireland and Ghana. [31]

On 26 May 2017, at the age of 16, Ampadu was called into the senior Wales squad ahead of their World Cup qualifier with Serbia. [32] He was called up again on 1 November 2017 for friendlies against France and Panama, [33] and made his debut aged 17 on 10 November 2017 against France at the Stade de France, coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute for Joe Ledley in a 2–0 defeat. [34]

In May 2021, Ampadu was selected for the Wales squad for the delayed UEFA Euro 2020 tournament. [35] On 20 June, in the 55th-minute of Wales' 1–0 defeat to Italy, he received a straight red card for a late challenge on Federico Bernardeschi, becoming the youngest player to receive one at the European Championships. [36] In November 2022 he was named in the Wales squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. [37]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 23 August 2024 [38]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup [lower-alpha 1] League cup [lower-alpha 2] Europe OtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Exeter City 2016–17 [39] League Two 8010202 [lower-alpha 3] 0130
Chelsea 2017–18 [40] Premier League 103030000070
2018–19 [41] Premier League0020003 [lower-alpha 4] 00050
Total1050303000120
Chelsea U23 2017–18 [40] 5 [lower-alpha 3] 050
RB Leipzig (loan) 2019–20 [42] Bundesliga 30103 [lower-alpha 5] 070
Sheffield United (loan) 2020–21 [43] Premier League2503010290
Venezia (loan) 2021–22 [44] Serie A 29010300
Spezia (loan) 2022–23 [45] Serie A310201 [lower-alpha 6] 1341
Leeds United 2023–24 [46] Championship 46032203 [lower-alpha 7] 0542
2024–25 [47] Championship30001040
Total490323030582
Career total146016290601111883
  1. Includes FA Cup, DFB-Pokal, Coppa Italia
  2. Includes EFL Cup
  3. 1 2 Appearances in EFL Trophy
  4. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  6. Appearance in Serie A relegation play-off
  7. Appearances in Championship play-offs

International

As of match played 9 September 2024 [48]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Wales 201720
201840
201970
202070
2021110
202290
202390
202450
Total540

Honours

Chelsea

Individual

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References

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  7. "Exeter City 1–0 Brentford". BBC Sport. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
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