Official: Leeds United sign Ethan Ampadu from Chelsea

Ethan Ampadu won’t be turning 23 for a couple more months, but had been on Chelsea’s books long long enough that for the past few days, following the departure of César Azpilicueta, he had been our longest-serving non-Academy-grown senior player.

The young defender arrived as a highly rated and high promising player from Exeter City in 2017, and would become one of the youngest players to ever play for Chelsea not long after. Alas, following that debut at just a few days after his 17th birthday, Ampadu would make just eleven more appearance before hitting the loan trail and spending the last four seasons away on a succession of loans at RB Leipzig, Sheffield United, Venezia, and Spezia.

And now, he’s leaving for good, having completed his transfer to Leeds United, where he’s signed a five-year contract. Leeds are reportedly paying £7+3m to make this happen, while Chelsea also have a sell-on clause (but no buyback).

Ampadu seemed to come close a few times over the years to re-establishing his place in the first-team, but it was not not meant to be in the end.

Good luck at Leeds, Ethan! Perhaps our paths will cross again in the near future...