Chelsea defender Ampadu: RB Leipzig loan has not been as good as I hoped

Ethan Ampadu has admitted that his loan at RB Leipzig has not gone as well as he would have hoped.

The 19-year-old defender joined the Bundesliga side from Chelsea in July 2019 on a season-long loan, looking for regular first-team minutes. 

But the Wales international has found regular playing time hard to come by under Julian Nagelsmann, making only seven total appearances for the club and starting just two matches. 

It was not the experience that one of the Blues most promising defenders would have hoped for, and Ampadu admitted that his time with the Bundesliga side has been mixed so far.

“There’s been a lot of frustration at times; however, I’ve learned a lot through those frustrations which will only help me later in my career,” Ampadu told The Athletic.

“I’ve not played as many games as I’d have liked to but in the games I’ve played in, I think I’ve done reasonably well. That’ll give me confidence, but I’ve things to learn from.

“If I’m honest, it’s not been as good as I hoped, not all that I wanted it to be. But I hope technically I’ve improved and, tactically, I’ve now played under another manager.

“So I’ve learned another style of football and how another manager thinks football should be played.”

The high point of Ampadu’s time at Leipzig came in one of his two starts for the club, a surprise nod against Tottenham in the Champions League last-16 first leg in north London.

With regular starter Dayot Upamecano injured Nagelsmann turned to Ampadu and the teenager delivered, helping his side keep a clean sheet in a 1-0 away win.

Ampadu admits he was a little surprised to be handed the start in such an important match, but is happy he was able to help his team get a result that ultimately helped them advance in the two-leg tie.

“Starting at Tottenham? Yeah, that came out of the blue a little bit,” Ampadu said. 

“It was my first start in a little while, obviously. I knew I had to concentrate 100 per cent, I was up against high-class players — Lucas Moura with his pace and movement, Dele Alli also. [Harry] Kane and Son [Heung-min] are a miss to any team, but they still [have] class players.

“[I] felt positive, felt I’d done well. It was tiring, the lungs and legs needed to get used to it.”