"This one hurt me," "I thought he'd make it" - Chelsea fans react as 22-year-old star joins Championship club on permanent deal

Chelsea have officially parted ways with their 22-year-old youngster Ethan Ampadu. The Welsh international has joined Championship side Leeds United on a permanent deal.

Ampadu intially joined Chelsea back in 2017 from Exeter. He spent time away on four different loan spells with clubs like RB Leipzig, Sheffield United, Venezia and Spezia.

Overall, he has made 12 appearances for the Blues, three of them coming in the Europa League. Initially starting out as a defensive midfielder, Ampady showcased a skillset to play as a centre-back as well.

Over the last five years, he has continued his development, amassing 44 international caps for Wales.

With Chelsea on a summer sale spree, Ampadu's departure marks yet another chapter in the Blues' policy of turning the page on young players' who have failed to make the mark at the club.

Chelsea fans took to social media to express their reactions to the news. Here are some of the best ones:

Ampadu is among several young Chelsea players to have left the club this summer. Among the notable names are - Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic and Mason Mount.

While Havertz failed to prove his mettle despite getting an abundance of opportunities, some can argue that Pulisic was never really given a run of games post the 2020-21 season.

As for Mount, he delivered for over two seasons and selling him to rivals Manchester United after one bad campaign may come back to haunt the club.

The Blues are in the middle of a summer rebuild. After spending north of £600m last season, Chelsea have now sold players worth over £225m.

They have parted ways with the likes of Kai Havertz, Mason Mount, N'Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Edouard Mendy and Cesar Azpilicueta among