Ethan Ampadu is expected to follow in the footsteps of Liam Cooper and become the captain to lead Leeds United back into the Premier League. The Scot will go down as a legendary figure at Elland Road as he was the club captain under whom the club got back to the top flight after being out of the Premier League for more than a decade-and-a-half. Cooper left Leeds last year when his contract expired and moved to Bulgaria on a free transfer to join CSKA Sofia. However, Leeds retain a special place in his heart and he wants to return to Elland Road where he spent a decade of his life.
Liam Cooper took his time to prove himself but became the bedrock of the Leeds side that returned to the Premier League and he was a constant in the team that was in the top flight for three years before getting relegated in 2023.
By the end of his time, the Scot was no longer a certainty in the team and Ampadu had taken over the captaincy duties from him as he was no longer playing regularly in the starting eleven.
He joined CSKA Sofia on a free transfer after he moved on from Leeds but he remains an important figure in the club’s history and will forever go down as the leader and heartbeat of the team that got back to the Premier League after 16 years.
The Scot still loves Leeds and the club have a special place in his heart as he spent a decade at the club, making 284 appearances for the club during his stay at Elland Road.
And if Cooper has his way, his story at Leeds could see a fresh chapter as he wants to return to his former club in the future.
Liam Cooper has revealed his Leeds return dream
Cooper left Leeds last year when it became clear that he was no longer good enough to command a place in the team and his fitness was unreliable.
He remained the club captain at Elland Road until his last game but Ampadu was the effective leader of the team for most of the 2023/24 season.
He is showing his leadership skills at CSKA Sofia but the 33-year-old is in the twilight of his career and is expected to hang up his boots sooner rather than later.
The centre-back is also aware that he is nearing his end as an active player and has started planning for life after he ends his playing career.
Cooper has revealed that he has started his Master’s degree to learn how to be a deal-maker and administrator behind the scenes in football and admitted that his dream is to become the sporting director at Leeds.
“I’ve started a Masters degree and my ultimate dream is to be the sporting director at Leeds”, the Scot told the Daily Mail.
He is clear about his goal and a return to Leeds would be welcomed by the fans
Cooper served as an important player for Leeds and his role in getting the club promoted and subsequently keeping them in the top flight for the next three seasons was massive.
The defender arrived at a low-point for Leeds in 2014 when they were nothing more than a middling Championship club who were rarely involved in the race for promotion.
From there, he became part of a Marcelo Bielsa side that got promoted and finished in the top half of the Premier League. It is fair to say, he was part of both the highs and lows of being a Leeds player.
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A return to Leeds as a sporting director seems far-fetched given he has yet to hang up his boots, but the fans would love to hear that his goal is exactly that.
It shows that he still loves the club from his core and the fans would be more than happy if he becomes good enough to take charge of Leeds from behind the scenes at some point in the future.
Cooper would go down as an important player in the club’s history, but it seems, he is keen to write a fresh chapter for his story at Elland Road.
