‘Struggled’: Chelsea loanee criticised by national media for latest performance on international duty

Add as preferred source on Google

Chelsea loanee Ethan Ampadu has been criticised by Wales Online for his part in the country’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of Belgium.

The Spezia man was selected in midfield by Rob Page, despite featuring primarily for his loan club as a defender so far this campaign.

The 22-year-old kept up his impressive record of appearing for his national team, with last night being his 37^th appearance for this country already.

However, last night was far from his most impressive in a Wales shirt, with Wales Online claiming he made things too easy for the Red Devils when former Chelsea man Michy Batshuayi added his country’s second goal in the first half.

Ampadu struggles for Wales

They said: “Selected in midfield alongside Matt Smith, the pair struggled to stifle the likes of De Bruyne, Youri Tielemans and Eden Hazard. Shrugged off too easily for the second. Booked.”

Obviously, facing Belgium will provide any international standard footballer one of their biggest tests of their career, and Kevin de Bruyne in particular was in scintillating form last night following his early long range goal.

However, with Chelsea still surely hoping that he will one day break into their first team under new manager Graham Potter, they would be hoping for him to be able to compete with some of the world’s best players, with that likely to be the task in hand most weeks in the Premier League.

There had been thoughts during pre-season that Ampadu may be handed the chance to stay at Stamford Bridge for the campaign for the first time since he impressed mostly in cup competitions under Maurizio Sarri.

With Wales set to appear at this winter’s World Cup, the Blues loanee will be offered the chance to impress on the big stage, and the match against England in particular will have all eyes on his performance.