BREAKING NEWS: West Brom lose out on £7m+ deal for Chelsea outcast star as Leeds United close in on transfer………….

West Brom have failed in a bid to sign Ethan Ampadu from Chelsea after Leeds agreed a £7m+ deal for the Wales international, according to 90min.

Ampadu is set to leave Stamford Bridge on a permanent deal, with a medical booked for the player to move to Elland Road after spending the last two years on loan.

And according to a report on their website (17 July), West Brom were among the clubs interested in signing the 22-year-old from Chelsea before he opted for a move to Yorkshire

“Leeds are finalising the finer details of a deal for Chelsea’s Ethan Ampadu, seeing off interest from the likes of Sheffield United, Burnley, Fulham, West Brom and Coventry in the process,” they wrote.

“The 22-year-old has spent the last two seasons on loan in Serie A – at Venezia and Spezia respectively – having already spent time at Sheffield United and RB Leipzig. A permanent £7m move is now in the offing, ending a Chelsea career that has offered up just one Premier League appearance.”

Once transfer fees start getting to that level it essentially rules us out of the running because financially we’re in a mess.

Ampadu is a young player despite being on the scene for several years, and he has plenty of experience with over 40 international caps for Wales including appearances at the European Championships and World Cup.

Adding him to the squad would have been some excellent business as he provides quality and depth at both central defence and in central midfield, and his ability on the ball would help the team control games more.

But we simply can’t compete with these other clubs financially right now and Carlos Corberan will be gutted to have missed out on such a talent.

We need to strengthen the squad big time, with the new season only a few weeks away, but Ampadu isn’t someone who’ll be wearing the blue and white stripes this season.

In other West Brom news, medical outstanding as first-team player heads for The Hawthorns exit.

BY MATHIZY