UPDATE:
According to Sky Sports, the medical is complete.
An announcement is probably coming soon.
BREAKING: Chelsea youngster Ethan Ampadu has undergone a medical ahead of a potential loan move to Bundesliga side RB Leipzig according to Sky in Germany.
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) July 19, 2019
PREVIOUSLY:
Budding Chelsea midfielder (defender?) Ethan Ampadu was surprisingly left out of Chelsea’s traveling squad to Japan this week, with Frank Lampard confirming subsequently that he hopes to send the 18-year-old on a season-long somewhere. The non-crazy idea is to get him lots of playing time after a wasted season on the fringes of the first-team last year.
Almost immediately, Championship side Reading FC registered their interest, but a more intriguing destination could be Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, renowned for their emphasis on youth development — perhaps not coincidentally, their sporting director was linked with the Chelsea job not too long ago (before Petr Čech was appointed), but maybe the contact was about laying the groundwork for this possibility?
Either way, a rumor that first saw light on the pages of The Sun might actually turn out to be true, as today, Ampadu was spotted in Leipzig. Can’t miss that hair!
Ethan Ampadu ist bereits in Leipzig, das ist dann wohl der nächste Transfer! 18-jähriger Defensivspieler von Chelsea, der genau ins Anforderungaprofil von Nagelsmann passt! @ethanamp4 #amapdu #RBL #rbleipzig pic.twitter.com/eW2AMPBRvi
— RB-Fans.de (@rb_fans) July 19, 2019
The prospect of playing Champions League football while being coached by Julian Nagelsmann would certainly fit the bill for a challenging and hopefully rewarding loan, even if there’s a chance that RB Leipzig would try to then poach the Chelsea youngster just as Borussia Mönchengladbach tried repeatedly with Andreas Christensen. But, that’s the risk you take when playing the Game of Loans.
With RB Leipzig playing their first preseason match today, a 3-2 win over Galatasaray, there’s no time to waste in getting this move over the line and giving Ampadu the best chance of impressing and integrating with his new team.