Arsenal and Manchester United are said to be interested in signing Exeter City’s 15-year-old defender, Ethan Ampadu, who made his debut for the his club on Tuesday night.

The son of former Arsenal and Swansea midfielder, Ethan, played as centreback in the EFL Cup game against Grecians, helping his side keep a cleansheet and win the game 1-0 while also picking up the MOTM award.

 “The biggest compliment I can give him is that he plays like a 35-year-old,” Exeter manager, Paul Tisdale told BBC Radio Devon, said after the game.

“That’s not normally the English way – we like drama, we like spark. But we don’t often encourage and cultivate subtle, classy players, and he’s one of those.

EXETER, UNITED KINGDOM - JULY 28: Ethan Ampadu of Exeter City during the Pre Season Friendly match between Exeter City and Cardiff City at St James Park on July 28, 2016 in Exeter, England. (Photo by Harry Trump/Getty Images)
EXETER, UNITED KINGDOM – JULY 28: Ethan Ampadu of Exeter City during the Pre Season Friendly match between Exeter City and Cardiff City at St James Park on July 28, 2016 in Exeter, England. (Photo by Harry Trump/Getty Images)

“He finished school and he came straight in to train with the first team.

“I said ‘come in when you want and if you want to go on holiday with your family then you go away, but come and do as many days as you can’ – well he’s been in every day over his school holidays.

“’It became particularly apparent within three or four weeks that the rest of the squad suddenly had the utmost respect for his ability to play and they treated him like any other first-team player, if not a senior first-team player.

“That’s often a really good clue, the senior first-team players instantly accepted him as one of them and treated him as such. That’s a really good indicator to a manager, the fact that those players accepted him in and he has just looked the part.”

In addition to Arsenal and Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and City are all said to be monitoring the talented youngster who seems to have a massive future lying ahead of him.

Although he represented England at u16 level, he then moved to Wales for u17, qualifying through his mum and even though he played as a defender on Tuesday night, he has been a defensive midfielder for his short career to date. He captained the Dragons when they retained the Victory Shield in November.

Arsenal, however, may have the edge in signing him as his father is now a coach at Arsenal so will know if the player is ready for such a move and can advise him.

Kwame Ampadu via Arsenal.com
Kwame Ampadu via Arsenal.com

Kwame returned to Arsenal in 2012, leaving Exeter, where his son is currently, and returning to the club he played for between 1988 and 1991.

Ethan made the bench again for Exeter on Saturday.