Croeso, Ethan Ampadu - Square Ball 21/7/23

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GIVE AND YE SHALL RECEIVE

Written by: Rob Conlon

For much of this summer, whoever technically owned Leeds United at the time was asking its supporters to be patient and trust the club that the suits are working hard behind the scenes. Whether they have deserved such patience and trust will be answered by what happens next season, but after waiting for the takeover, a manager, and some staff to sign some players, Ethan Ampadu has become (hopefully) the first in a set of shiny new footballers to replace all the bad ones we’ve said inabit to.

Leeds have given Chelsea £7m and promised them an extra £3m, plus a cut of any future sale, to sign Ampadu. The perennial Chelsea loanee has penned a four-year deal with the option for a fifth, and the hope is he’s more promotion season Pat Bamford than Lewis Baker, Izzy Brown, or relegation season Pat Bamford.

Career so far

Ampadu is only 22, but has already been playing first-team football for seven years since making his senior debut for Exeter when he was still on his summer holidays before starting Year 11. Unlike most kids trafficked to Stamford Bridge, he at least got to play a handful of games for Chelsea, until they sent him to Fizzy Leipzig, Sheffield United, Venezia, and Spezia.

The good news is that while in Germany he was waterboarded with bull’s piss by Julian Nagelsmann, who seems to know a thing or two about coaching, so wasn’t subjected to Mother Theresa quotes and The Handbook by Nagelsmann’s successor Jesse Marsch.

The bad news is he’s been relegated in each of his last three seasons out on loan. I’ve convinced myself that’s a positive — that adversity should serve him well playing for Leeds in the Championship, whereas the toughest challenges last summer’s signings like Marc Roca and Rasmus Kristensen had faced were sitting on the benches of Bayern Munich and Ajax while collecting winner’s medals.

Do we have history?

Sheffield United fans are pretending they never liked Ampadu and always thought he was rubbish while he was on loan at Bramall Lane, but after he made his debut against Leeds in September 2020, their fansite gave him the joint-highest score in their player ratings, writing: ‘A fine debut performance from the Chelsea loanee. Calm, assured, and confident with the ball. He has a massive part to play this season.’

It wasn’t his fault fellow centre-back Jack Robinson lost Pat Bamford for Leeds’ late winner, nor was it Ampadu’s fault Phil Jagielka scored a dozy own-goal in their 2-1 defeat at Elland Road in the return fixture, when Ampadu came on as a sub. Sheffield United were just terrible.

Best moment

Making an international debut at the age of 17 in the Stade de France ain’t bad, neither is playing in European Championships and World Cups. At club level, Ampadu played only 78 minutes in the Bundesliga for Fizzy Leipzig, but his one full appearance came in the Champions League, thrown into the team due to injuries and suspensions for a knockout tie at Tottenham. Ampadu was still only 19, yet ‘cruised’ through the highest stakes game of his career.

Either that, or making his Sheffield United debut against Leeds.

Worst moment

Of the three relegations Amapadu has suffered, the most recent was the cruellest. With Sampdoria (LOL) and Cremenose already relegated, Spezia finished level on 31 points with Verona. Ordinarily, Spezia would have stayed up thanks to their superior head-to-head record against Verona, having beaten them 2-1 away and drawn 0-0 at home. But a change of the rules meant the final relegation place would be decided by a play-off if teams finished on the same number of points.

In the one-legged tie, Ampadu scored, but teammate M’Bala Nzola missed a penalty as Spezia were beaten 3-1 and demoted to Serie B. A kick in the bollocks, sure, although losing a play-off suggests he’ll fit right in at Leeds.

Rate the announcement

Ampadu has experienced a lot more than the average 22-year-old footballer, but the graphic Leeds created following his signing portrayed him as a knackered old veteran here for one last season before retiring — sitting on a brown leather chair, surrounded by memorabilia from his career, his pipe and slippers presumably just out of frame.

The big USP of Ampadu’s signing is that he is good mates with Tyler Adams, as they played together at Fizzy Leipzig. It’s more genuine than, ‘Hey, you guys used to hang around at the same training ground!’ Ampadu roomed with Adams, and told The Athletic in 2020 that he had “become one of my closest friends”:

“Obviously when I first joined, his English helped us get to know each other. We’ve bounced off each other all year. He’s helped me settle in. We’ve not actually played together much because he had an injury and then I had one.”

Now they can play an entire 46-game season together — right, Tyler?!

How will they win us over?

Daniel Farke has reportedly earmarked Ampadu to play as a defensive midfielder rather than a centre-half at Leeds, and he seems the ideal player to add the bite that goes down well at Elland Road.

Playing for Wales against Denmark as an 18-year-old, Ampadu was sent clattering into the advertising hoardings by Kasper Dolberg. Dolberg was booked, but Ampadu felt further punishment was required, ploughing through the striker’s back with an elbow raised just enough to receive a yellow card but not enough for a red, walking away from a melee to a standing ovation from supporters.

Off the field, he can prove his worth by convincing Tyler Adams to stay and being a better friend than Weston McKennie.

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