Chelsea loanee Ethan Ampadu finally makes his season debut for RB Leipzig

After three months, fourteen games, and 630 minutes of sitting on the bench, Ethan Ampadu finally made his debut for RB Leipzig on Wednesday, playing the final 18 minutes in their shocking 6-1 beatdown of Wolfsburg in the German Cup (“DFB Pokal”).

By the time the Chelsea loanee arrived on the scene, replacing the highly rated center back — deep breath — Dayotchanculle Upamecano, Leipzig were already leading 5-0. But it was still nice to see Ampadu finally get to stretch his legs in a match situation after all these weeks of waiting while also dealing with a few nagging injuries, including a concussion picked up on the international duty.

Whether this appearance will lead to further opportunities for Ampadu remains to be seen, but Leipzig are currently dealing with a couple injuries at center back (Ibrahima Konaté, Willi Orban) and that could benefit the 19-year-old Chelsea hopeful.

And to be sure, Amadu needs to start playing. The entire point of the loan was to get him (challenging) minutes, but at this rate, he would’ve been better served by just staying with Chelsea. If the situation doesn’t change, Chelsea will undoubtedly start exploring different solutions for him in January.