Leeds United leading race for Chelsea’s Ethan Ampadu amid interest from Italy and Spain

Chelsea's versatile defender Ethan Ampadu could now stay behind despite being on the list to travel to the United States with the team due to interest from Leeds United.

Ethan Ampadu has been training with Mauricio Pochettino’s team in Cobham amid interest in him from clubs like Udinese but according to a report on the Evening Standard, he is now close to moving to the Yorkshire club who were relegated from the Premier League last season.

The 22-year-old has made less than 20 appearances for Chelsea since making his debut for the club in 2017, he is currently the longest-serving member of Chelsea on their books following the departure of César Azpilicueta and Baba Rahman recently.

He spent last season at Italian club Spezia and before that was at Venezia, but is now said to be open to permanently leaving the club despite remaining professional and training with the Chelsea first team this summer.

The Blues have already sold 10 players including Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy and midfielder Mateo Kovacic to Manchester City, raising more than £200million.

They have also brought in Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson as well as the returning Armando Broja as they look to get back to the top of the Premier League table after finishing 12 last season.

The Blues have the backing of history though after winning the Premier League title under Antonio Conte despite finishing the previous campaign outside the top six. There is growing optimism that they will likely bring in another striker but will have to wait to sort out the future of Romelu Lukaku before making that move.