Wales manager Ryan Giggs has stated that Ethan Ampadu has a decision to make as he looks to feature regularly this season.
Allowed to depart Chelsea on loan 12 months ago to pick up valuable experience of playing first-team football week in, week out, the 19-year-old was limited to only seven appearances for RB Leipzig.
Ampadu needs to be playing this term as he looks to continue his development but minutes may be hard to come by at Chelsea given the amount of players he is competing against.
With Kurt Zouma, Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Fikayo Tomori already ahead of him in the pecking order at Stamford Bridge, the Blues have brought in experienced defender Thiago Silva as they look to address their defensive issues.
While Ampadu will be hoping that he can become a permanent fixture in Frank Lampard's team for years to come, his international boss has admitted that he's spoken to him quite a bit about the decision he needs to make.
“Thiago is a quality centre-half and you can only learn from someone like that,” said Giggs (via BT) ahead of Wales' UEFA Nations League game against Bulgaria.
“I want all the players to be playing regularly, but that sometimes isn’t the case.
“It’s that balance over whether they’re at a top club and surrounded by top players and improving every day, but ultimately you need minutes on the pitch.
“That’s a decision for Ethan. I’ve talked to him a lot about that.
“I think last year was maybe a little bit different as he had injuries. You could see from the game he played against Tottenham in the Champions League he was outstanding.
“Nothing fazes him, he’s a quality player, and he just needs to keep fit now.”
Ampadu made five appearances in his last season in west London under Maurizio Sarri, with three of those coming in the Europa League and the other two in the FA Cup.
