After beginning his career by playing in a variety of positions for several clubs, Ampadu, 23, joined the Whites from Chelsea in the summer.
However, he has now successfully assimilated into Daniel Farke’s midfield at Elland Road and has made himself at home.
Wales is on the verge of being disqualified from the 2024 European Championships, and many have cited the recent losses of numerous important players as the reason.
Scott Minto has noted that Joe Allen’s retirement has also created problems, even though Gareth Bale is undoubtedly the most well-known.
According to Minto, who was speaking on talkSPORT at 3:44 p.m.: “Ethan Ampadu is obviously a very good player, and it’s good to see him getting minutes in a Leeds United shirt, but [Allen] is another player Wales relied on for many years and is no longer able to.”
Mora said: “Ampadu has gone to Leeds and he’s now playing as a central midfielder. And that has been huge for Wales.
“Hopefully we see Ethan over the next couple of years. 23 years old and he’s already got 45 caps to his name – it’s incredible.”
Incredible, indeed
What sort of season has Ampadu had?
The former Chelsea midfielder’s signing by Leeds was always seen as a triumph because the Stamford Bridge team had routinely sent him out on loan.
With nearly 40 senior international caps, 26 Premier League matches, and 60 Serie A appearances under his belt, Ampadu joined the Whites in the summer.
It’s really not surprising that Ampadu has adapted to life at Elland Road like a duck to water, but we’ll need to be careful next summer because, if we don’t get promoted, there will undoubtedly be clubs in the Premier League vying to recruit the Exeter-born star, who can play nearly anywhere.
If Ampadu, Joe Rodon, and Daniel James for Wales don’t make it to the Euros, it will be frustrating for them, but sadly, it appears doubtful right now.
In a related development:
‘Brilliant’ Leeds United star says he ‘doesn’t regret’ what happened during 2022 ‘learning curve’
Under Daniel Farke this season, the Elland Road star has been an important contributor.
Daniel James has thought back on his most recent loan transfer away from Elland Road and believes it was a good experience for him to learn from in his senior career. In 2022, the winger from Leeds United signed a contract to play with Fulham for the entire season, although his chances weren’t precisely favorable.
When James played for the Cottagers in the Premier League, he only made five starts, and nine times he was either benched or left out of the lineup. He sustained an injury near the end of his brief stint and left with fewer minutes than he presumably anticipated.
The adaptable winger had been written off by the previous manager Jesse Marsch, but since coming back to Elland Road under the new management of Daniel Farke, he has been playing regularly for Leeds once more. James has participated in all but two of the Whites’ Championship games thus far, and he has already scored a goal and provided four assists.
James’ former colleague Marcus Rashford spoke lyrical about him while he was playing for Manchester United, calling him a “brilliant” player.
James discussed his loan move to Fulham and how advantageous it was despite having little playing time in an interview with the PA News Agency while on international duty with Wales.
“Fulham was a good learning curve for me and I don’t regret it at all. I didn’t play as much as I wanted to but, because it happened so late in the window on deadline day, it takes a while to settle and find somewhere to live.
“You’ve got children as well and the first two or three months were very hard. The World Cup was coming up and it’s always hard to settle in pretty quick.
“It’s great to be back. As soon as I got back in the summer I just wanted to play and show that I was there to stay and work hard. We had a little bit of a tricky start, but we’ve had a good run of games and we’ve just got to keep pushing.
“It’s always harder when you haven’t played many minutes, not just physically but mentally as well. You need to get into the rhythm of games and I’ve got that at Leeds now. I’m feeling fit and ready and, when that happens, everything comes naturally.”
