Leeds United’s £7m Wednesday destroyer shows up transfer time bomb - Graham Smyth's Verdict — YEP 9/3/24

The last time Leeds United came to Hillsborough, with an Under 23s side, the big name on the team sheet turned out to be a transfer time bomb.

By Graham Smyth

Jean-Kevin Augustin, brought in to help the promotion bid, gave a sign of what was to come by limping off in his first taste of Whites action against the young Owls and went on to star more prominently in a transfer-related court case than he did in any footballing contest. This time, as Leeds visited S6 once more, a man who can already be described as a shining example of great recruitment and at worst, an incredibly sensible bit of business, shone brightly. Augustin was a costly mistake who contributed next to nothing on the pitch. £7m signing Ethan Ampadu's contribution might just push this Championship club into the Premier League's pool of riches. Ever since Daniel Farke put him next to his Welsh international team-mate and pal Joe Rodon at centre-half, the pair have been colossal and consistent. Reliable and rugged. Composed and classy. And for a game that had banana skin written all over it, they were always going to be vital.

Wednesday have been a different proposition for the Championship since Danny Röhl got his hands on them, a far cry from the doomed relegation favourites they looked in the early stages of the season. His 11 wins have given them a chance, where none previously looked possible, and their continued relegation zone existence shows just how bad things were before he arrived at Hillsborough.

Leeds have a difficult proposition for the Championship generally this season but recently they've been a huge problem. Farke has a talented side, with attacking options who could easily ply their trade a level above and a defence that hardly ever concedes these days. Thirty-one points from 33 and an unbeaten run stretching back to December have put them right up there in the title race, let alone the promotion hunt. But on Tuesday, after a hard-fought 1-0 over Stoke City, they looked tired. And no wonder, with a fixture schedule this hectic. So as Leeds travelled to Hillsborough, for a Yorkshire derby with so much riding on it, the rest of the promotion candidates looked on hopefully.

Farke made big changes to his team and even if his stock has never been higher with Leeds fans, eyebrows went up as Sam Byram, Connor Roberts and Daniel James went out of the team. In came Junior Firpo, due to Byram's inability to play twice in such a short space of time, so soon after recovering from his latest hamstring injury. Archie Gray coming in was no surprise, but him taking Roberts' place and not one of the midfielders' was a little unexpected. But Willy Gnonto's replacement of James, who menaced Stoke in midweek, was a head scratcher. Gnonto's handling of the last Yorkshire derby, at Huddersfield, was not what the occasion required and this one promised to be just as intense and fractious. Elsewhere in the side Farke's backing stuck to players who almost to a man looked ready for a break at full-time on Tuesday night.

Of all the changes, the one at left-back looked most suspect in a difficult first half. Firpo's lack of defensive composure caused problems in the early minutes as he twice rushed in and didn't get the ball. Ampadu was there to mop up on both occasions. It took Leeds a full 15 minutes to get a foot on the ball and exercise the kind of patience required to calm the game. They went left and right, waiting for a gap to open but when it did Gnonto's pass for the overlapping Gray was far too heavy. Wednesday's more direct route took them down the left to win a corner and the delivery was good enough to cause major problems for Leeds, a loose ball dropping to Djeidi Gassama, who somehow saw his shot kept out by Meslier. Another Firpo error, in possession this time, sent Wednesday away down the right and though Ilia Gruev was also found wanting, Ampadu was there.

A complete lack of rhythm, poor passing and the pitch meant that Leeds' best hope was the ball over the top from deep, from the boot of Ampadu. First Bamford went through, but slowed up by the bounce of the ball he opted not to take on the shot and his eventual effort was blocked. Then it was Georginio Rutter's turn and though he did go for goal almost immediately, James Beadle got a hand to the lob and his defenders got back to block the secondary attempt.

Other than that it was all a bit of a nothing half of football. And with the minimum four added minutes played it looked for all the world like the teams would go in level. But having pushed play high up the pitch, Leeds looked for an opening and it was Firpo who climbed out of his malaise to spot it. His cross to the back post was perfect, taking an entire line of defenders out of the equation and leaving Bamford, who stole in unmarked, with a right-foot tap-in to separate the teams.

When Leeds go ahead, good things tend to happen and that was the case again at Hillsborough. They came out for the second half a more relaxed outfit and played their football. Gnonto and Gray linked up well on the right. Glen Kamara appeared on the left with some tidy footwork before Rutter spun and shot for the near post, forcing Beadle into another stop. Even though they'd finally started to play the game the way they wanted to, Leeds took the Wednesday route to put daylight between themselves and the hosts. Meslier's long kick, Bamford's silky touch and Rutter's pass round the corner put Gnonto in behind and he made no mistake. Of Farke's three big changes, two had directly contributed to the goals.

With confidence flowing and Wednesday's almost entirely gone, Leeds could have wrapped it up. Gnonto put Summerville in on Beadle, who produced his best stop of the night. Leeds toyed with their opponent, on the counter especially, but it's never that straightforward in the Championship and a long-range effort from Gassama, then a follow-up from Michael Smith, tested Meslier. His second save sent the ball spinning towards goal and who was there? Ampadu. His stubborn refusal to concede, his reading of the game to be there in exactly the right place and his relentless winning of duels, in the air or on the deck, are a big part of the reason why Leeds have conceded three goals in their last 12. If Wednesday could beat Meslier and still not score, they were not going to score all night.

Farke made subs to save tiring legs and Roberts might have made the scoreline healthier from 18 yards, but this one was done and dusted long before the final whistle and if anyone deserved the clean sheet it was the man at the back with the captain's armband. Ever-present all season in the Championship, no one in the Leeds squad has played more minutes than Ampadu and few could claim to represent better business. "Good night's work," said Ampadu on social media late on Friday night but in truth it's been a good seven-and-a-half months' work. He and Leeds have exploded the idea that automatic promotion was ever beyond them. They're ticking ominously.