Chelsea confident in signing Welsh wonderkid despite his Arsenal ties — report

Chelsea are always on the lookout for fresh talent (for the Loan Army) and according to Exeter-based newspaper Express and Echo — who actually just copied the Daily Mirror’s story, word for word, and passed it off as their own — the Blues are confident in closing a deal for Exeter City defensive midfielder Ethan Ampadu.

The “wonderkid”, as the report call him, made his professional debut back in August in a League Cup game against Brentford, at just 15 years, 10 months and 26 days of age. Since then, the now 16-year-old has made eight appearances for the club in League Two and domestic cups matches, as well as getting three caps for Wales' U19 team.

Ampadu was one of Exeter City's starting players in their 3-2 win over Chelsea U23 in the EFL Trophy last month. Ampadu played the entire game and passed his audition as Chelsea have reportedly made a £2 million bid for him.

Previous reports claimed that Arsenal were interested in Ampadu — a logical link, given that his father Kwame is currently a coach for the Gunners' U18 squad. But they have apparently not followed up with an actual bid, thus giving Chelsea a chance to nip in.

Maybe six years from now, we will have headlines of 73-year-old Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger telling the press that he could’ve signed Ampadu from Exeter back in 2017...