Ethan Ampadu breaks silence on Chelsea future after learning important lesson at Venezia

On 22 January, Venezia FC's Twitter admin broke an unspoken rule.

The trick of the trade is not to get attached to loan players. Or at the very least, don't make that attachment known to the wider public, particularly not an attachment to those loanees who are farmed out at fiercely high rates from a club that has, over the last odd-decade, come to carve an exquisite industry in doing so.

But it seems, in the 79th minute of Venezia's Serie A clash with Inter Milan, Venezia FC's Twitter admin couldn't help themselves. Ethan Ampadu, the 21-year-old Chelsea defender, loaned out to the ostensibly relegation-condemned Serie A side back in August, had finally cracked them.

"Ampadu is a gem," they tweeted. "He's played in at least four different roles this season, doing a bit of everything between midfield and defence, and his assist on Henry's goal was his third of the campaign."

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At that point, Ampadu was into his fourth position as a Venezian player. By the next match, he would stretch that fact to five, but here, against Inter Milan, the Welshman was deployed as a right-winger, and 19 minutes in, the curious decision looked to be a masterstroke. Ampadu blitzed up the touchline and sent in a sweet cross – one arm outstretched for balance, a subtle back lift, follow through like a golf swing – onto which on-rushing Thomas Henry latched, lifting Venezia to a 0-1 lead.

Venezia ultimately lost the match, courtesy of a 90-minute winner from veteran striker Edin Džeko, but the rule had been broken. Venezia admitted their comprehensive adoration for their Chelsea loanee.

It comes as something of a chore to remind oneself that he is only 21