Croeso, Ethan Ampadu - Square Ball 21/7/23
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.
🏴💫 @ethanamp26 pic.twitter.com/xXxSepDTCM
— Leeds United (@LUFC) July 19, 2023
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?!
🏴💫 @ethanamp26 pic.twitter.com/xXxSepDTCM
— Leeds United (@LUFC) July 19, 2023
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.
