Lesser spotted Chelsea youngster Ethan Ampadu earns Wales call again

Chelsea defender/midfielder Ethan Ampadu has not seen his minutes increase as expected (if at all) from last year’s debut season under Antonio Conte, but fortunately his lack of minutes have not diminished his standing within the Welsh national team, for whom he already has six international appearances since his debut at age 16 in May 2017.

Despite that, he’s been called up by former Manchester United midfielder and current Wales national football team head coach Ryan Giggs to join the 31(!)-man squad for a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago, followed by their first Euro 2020 qualifying match against Slovakia.

The full squad is as follows:

GOALKEEPERS: Wayne Hennessey (Crystal Palace), Danny Ward (Leicester City), Adam Davies (Barnsley), Chris Maxwell (Charlton Athletic);

DEFENDERS: Ashley Williams (Stoke City, on loan from Everton), Chris Gunter (Reading), Neil Taylor (Aston Villa), Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Connor Roberts (Swansea City), James Lawrence (Anderlecht), Ethan Ampadu (Chelsea), Tom Lockyer (Bristol Rovers), Chris Mepham (Bournemouth), Paul Dummett (Newcastle United), Declan John (Swansea City);

MIDFIELDERS: Ryan Hedges (Barnsley), Joe Allen (Stoke City), David Brooks (Bournemouth), Ben Woodburn (Liverpool), Harry Wilson (Derby County, on loan from Liverpool), Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal), Matt Smith (FC Twente, on loan from Manchester City), Lee Evans (Wigan Athletic), Daniel James (Swansea City), Will Vaulks (Rotherham), George Thomas (Scunthorpe, on loan from Leicester City);

FORWARDS: Rabbi Matondo (Schalke 04), Sam Vokes (Stoke City), Tom Lawrence (Derby County), Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), Tyler Roberts (Leeds United).

Ampadu has been solid-to-impressive in every one of his national team appearances, just as he has been in most of his Chelsea ones. Hopefully we’ll see him feature for both teams a lot more in the future.

Good luck, Ethan!