Chelsea preparing to loan out Ethan Ampadu?

Despite being contracted to the Blues since 2017, Ampadu has been provided with just one outing in the Premier League, which came as an 80th-minute substitute in a fixture at Huddersfield Town later that year.

Ampadu has since made a further 11 appearances for Chelsea, but the most recent of those matches came against Malmo in the Europa League back in February 2019.

On the back of spells away at RB Leipzig, Sheffield United and Venezia, the Wales international has been bidding to earn a spot in Chelsea's first-team squad.

However, when the club's shirt numbers were revealed last week, Ampadu was nowhere to be seen, a clear sign that he does not feature in Thomas Tuchel's plans this season.

According to The Athletic, the 21-year-old will soon be given permission to take one of numerous opportunities which will be offered elsewhere.

The report claims that Ampadu is attracting interest from the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga and the Bundesliga ahead of the final weeks of the transfer window.

Ampadu is likely to show a preference towards gaining regular first-team football as he bids to cement his place in Wales' World Cup squad.

Despite not being due to turn 22 years of age until next month, the versatile player has already made 36 times for his country, more than he has done for any of the five clubs that he has represented during his senior days.

Chelsea are likely to hold fire with regards to a loan exit until they are able to sign at least one more central defender.

Although they are known to hold a strong interest in Leicester City's Wesley Fofana, concluding what would be a world-record deal for a defender is far from a foregone conclusion.

As it stands, Ampadu currently has two years remaining on his contract, and Chelsea may look to extend those terms before agreeing to another temporary switch elsewhere.

However, with Ampadu at an age where he may want to become more settled at one club in the future, the player and his representatives may be against taking that option for the time being.