Chelsea defender Ethan Ampadu has signed a new five-year contract, the club have announced.

The centre-back/holding midfielder has yet to feature under new manager Maurizio Sarri this season, but he impressed playing for Wales during the recent international break.

Speaking about his new deal, Ampadu said he is excited by his future at the club:

“I’m really proud and happy. I’m looking forward to the next five years and all I have got to do now is continue to work hard, and hopefully, good things will happen.”

The 18-year-old only signed from Exeter City last summer and his new contract will keep him with the Blues until 2023. He has made seven senior appearances for Chelsea, all coming last season under Antonio Conte.

After making his debut in the 5-1 victory over Nottingham Forest in the third round of the Carabao Cup, he then made his first start for the Blues in the same competition against Everton.

His Premier League bow came back in December of 2017, coming on as a late substitute in the 3-1 victory over Huddersfield Town but Ampadu really announced himself to the world with his man of the match performance in Wales’ resounding 4-1 win over the Republic of Ireland in the opening round of the Nations League where he was a rock in the heart of midfield but also set up a goal.

Many had thought Ampadu would join Arsenal since his father is an academy coach with Chelsea’s London rivals while others suggested the now full Welsh international would join Manchester United after Sir Alex Ferguson had identified the starlet when he was super young plus the obvious Welsh connection with Ryan Giggs.

Clearly the young man saw things differently and not only chose to join Chelsea in the first place when he had numerous top options but he has now committed to the club for a massive 5 years so that has to speak volumes about the reputation Chelsea has as a destination for players wanting to get to the higher echelons of the Premier League.

As we saw with Romelu Lukaku, a player may not end up playing for Chelsea but having the club play a big part in your development gives you a greater chance of ultimate success.

So far this campaign, Ethan Ampadu has yet to feature in the match-day squad but the club are clearly confident that he’ll make his first-team breakthrough sooner rather than later.