Ethan Ampadu has been an integral player for Leeds United since he joined the club last year. He has rarely missed a game when fit and has been prepared to play anywhere to help the team. It was no surprise to see him getting officially anointed as the club captain following Liam Cooper’s departure at the end of last season. However, the Welshman missed a chunk of the season due to a knee injury and only recently returned to the squad following a long recovery process.
Leeds boss Daniel Farke is gradually introducing the club captain back into the team and has decided against throwing him directly into the starting eleven as Ampadu builds his fitness back for the rigours of the Championship.
The team’s good form has also allowed the manager to be patient with the Welshman and he came on for five and eight minutes respectively in Leeds’ last two league games against Middlesbrough and Preston North End.
Farke will look to provide more minutes to Ampadu in the coming games without having to start him but knows that he is too good not to be in the starting eleven for too long once he feels fit to get on the pitch from the first minute.
The complication for the Leeds boss is that the defence has been functioning well even without Ampadu and they have the third-best defensive record in the Championship this season.
Joe Rodon and Pascal Struijk have struck a good partnership in central defence, Jayden Bogle has nailed down the right-back spot and Sam Byram has done well to replace the injured Junior Firpo at left-back.
Ampadu can also play in midfield but Farke would not want to break up the excellent partnership of Joe Rothwell and Ao Tanaka in the middle of the park.
Daniel Farke faces a tough decision
Leeds signed the Welshman from Chelsea as a defensive midfielder and he started the first 26 Championship games of last season in the middle of the park.
However, injuries to Liam Cooper and Pascal Struijk forced Farke to push Ethan Ampadu into the heart of the team’s defence and that has been his position since then.
He wasted little time in forming a strong partnership with Joe Rodon and provided the stability in defence that pushed Leeds to get 90 points last season.
As luck would have it, Ampadu’s knee injury this season allowed Struijk to get back into the team and he has given no reason to Farke to drop him through his performances.
However, Farke will need to find a space for Ampadu in the starting eleven soon and will need to make a tough call in the coming weeks to make way for the club captain to return to the team.
Where will Ethan Ampadu slot in?
Ampadu’s versatility gives the Leeds boss more options and he can be slotted into multiple roles if needed but the defender would want a settled place in the team.
Ampadu can play both right-back and left-back and while Bogle is a certainty on the right, the left side of the defence could be open. Junior Firpo is out with a hamstring injury and Sam Byram’s fitness is always under the scanner.
Ampadu can offer stability and consistency at left-back if Farke is prepared to take that chance.
The midfield is one more area of the team where the Welshman can come in. He is a natural number 6 and was Leeds’ best midfielder last season until he was pushed into central defence.
However, Rothwell and Tanaka have been excellent this season and are responsible for providing that stability and control in midfield that the Leeds manager loves.
Either of the two would be desperately lucky to lose their place to Ampadu despite the Welshman’s obvious quality.
Finally, we come down to central defence and Struijk. The Belgian has been brilliant since replacing Ampadu in central defence and has formed a stable partnership with Rodon.
However, the former Chelsea star is the club captain and the senior star and it would not be any surprise if Struijk makes way for him to get his place back in the starting eleven.
The Belgian would be unlucky to lose his place in the team but Ampadu is the obvious choice when it and has been one of the most consistent players for Farke since his arrival last year.
