How Leeds United are bouncing back from potential Championship derailment with replacements as free agent nears — YEP 22/10/24

By Joe Donnohue

Leeds United's midfield injury nightmare may have inadvertently permitted Daniel Farke to stumble across an approach which takes his Whites to another level.

Injuries sustained just days apart to midfield pairing Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev, which will keep them out until the New Year, had the potential to derail Leeds' season.

Losing the club captain, capable of playing at centre-half or centre-mid without skipping a beat, and the individual whose arrival into the starting lineup last season coincided with 12 wins from Leeds' next 13, for an extended period was a disastrous scenario.

It could still prove to be, considering Leeds only have two senior central midfielders to pick from for the next few months, prior to an anticipated free agent signing, and no out-and-out 'deep six', as Farke likes to call it.

In their absence, Ao Tanaka and Joe Rothwell have deputised for Ampadu and Gruev. Whilst the makeshift pairing are anything but well-acquainted with one another, they do boast considerable pedigree in the Championship and Germany's 2. Bundesliga.

Tanaka's in-game intelligence bore out against Sheffield United, fulfilling a dual role in the middle of the park, dropping in between the centre-backs to help Leeds build up in a 3-1-6 in-possession formation, as Ampadu so often facilitates. It was something Blades boss Chris Wilder mentioned specifically in his post-match press conference as being especially difficult to deal with.

“They put six on the top line, six players on the top line. They gamble and they gamble well on it. They put six on the top line. You have four. There's a big overload,” the 57-year-old said.

While there were few raking balls over the top of the Blades' defence, Tanaka allowed Rodon and in particular Struijk, to take up wider starting positions with the ball, progressing it out wide and into midfield.

Additionally, the Japan international was especially active during the second build-up phase, completing more passes into the final third (14) than any other player on the night at Elland Road. Aside from Ampadu's 16 passes into the final third versus 10-man Cardiff City earlier this season, who occupied bottom spot in the Championship table, played a man down for over two-thirds of the game and surrendered 79 per cent possession to Leeds, Tanaka's 14 against the previously unbeaten Blades is the most by a Leeds midfielder in a single game this season.

The worry with losing Ampadu and Gruev at once was that Leeds' defensive security would be impacted. Both first-choice midfielders could ostensibly be described as defensive-minded, whilst Rothwell is a No. 8 and Tanaka, more of an eight than a six.

It would be too early to suggest they will provide the same level of defensive cover as the Bulgarian and Leeds' skipper but limiting Sheffield United to 0.20 xG (Expected Goals) at Elland Road last Friday, Norwich City to 0.64 non-penalty xG at Carrow Road at the beginning of the month and Coventry City to 0.41 before that, is a good start.

Excluding Illan Meslier's baffling 96th-minute error at the Stadium of Light, Leeds have conceded just once from open play with Tanaka and Rothwell as the midfield pairing in near enough four full games.

When Leeds are headed in the opposite direction, strengths they've exhibited throughout their careers become more apparent.

It wouldn't be entirely accurate to suggest United are noticeably less adventurous and less creative with a double-pivot comprised of Ampadu and Gruev - both players do their bit when it comes to progressing the play and ignoring the holistic importance of the injured men would be foolish. But, groans from the away end on more than one occasion this season, namely West Bromwich Albion and Cardiff, suggests the balance Farke likes that the injured pair bring, isn't the most visually alluring approach.

Pascal Struijk is the team's most consistent ball-progressor, passing into the final third on average 7.5 times per 90 - his underlying importance to the team is a topic for another day. What may be surprising to some, Ampadu is next with 6.45 passes into the final third per 90, followed by Tanaka on 6.22, Rothwell on 5.95 and Gruev on 5.51. Generally speaking, there isn't a great degree of variance between Leeds' four main midfield options when it comes to getting the ball to the attackers.

Rothwell the revelation, would probably not be playing were both Ampadu and Gruev fit but the Bournemouth loanee was superb against the Blades, putting in a man of the match display in the middle of the park. Just don't get injured. Or Tanaka.

How does the ‘new midfield’ compare to the ‘old midfield’ when it comes to passing?

Progressive passes is a slightly different metric to passes into the final third and tends to reflect the attacking quality and threat potential brought by a given pass. It is described as a pass that moves the ball at least ten yards from its furthest point in the last six passes and does not include passes from the defending 40 per cent of the pitch.

Sounds complicated, right? Try this, then: Player A could theoretically make 20 passes into the final third in a given match but that might come about due to specific circumstances, for example playing against an opponent who has had a man sent off and therefore are set up in a low block. Naturally, the attacking team's defensive midfielders take up more of an advanced position upfield, exchanging passes with teammates which technically take place in the final third, but are often received straight back and therefore not penetrative.

A progressive pass, on the other hand, would see Player A punch a ball into the feet or to meet the run of a teammate, often cutting through opposition lines and simply gets the ball nearer to the opponent's goal, much closer than at any previous point in the same move.

Leeds' progressive pass data this season suggests that a pairing of Rothwell and Tanaka has lifted the handbrake of Farke's midfield. The new-look duo are averaging, per 90 minutes, 6.22 progressive passes each since coming into the team which is a marked uptick on the previous incumbents. Gruev has managed 5.22 progressive passes per 90 this season, while Ampadu's figure stands at 3.23 per 90.

Tanaka and Rothwell are each managing 1.08 completed passes into the penalty area per 90, where Ampadu and Gruev were completing 0.65 and 0.58 per 90, respectively.

Of course, there are other means of progressing the play other than passing, such as carrying possession forward, something Farke also mentioned in the wake of Rothwell's standout display against the Blades, and once again bears out in the data.

Only Joel Piroe, Manor Solomon and Willy Gnonto are, on average, carrying the ball into the final third more often than Rothwell - 2.43 times per 90 - this season. Much of the attacking trio's carrying will be in situations where Leeds are breaking, while Rothwell's deeper starting position means in his path he faces more opponents arranged in a more organised fashion.

Prior to their injuries, Ampadu and Gruev were averaging 0.97 and 0.72 carries into the final third, per 90 minutes, respectively, which is quite the contrast.

Last season, Glen Kamara averaged 6.87 progressive passes, 5.97 passes into the final third, 1.37 carries into the final third and 1.23 passes into the penalty area per 90. Despite not being a goal threat, at the beginning of 2024/25, Leeds had appeared to lack that impetus and punchiness which the Finnish international brought. That now looks as though it's being rectified with Tanaka and Rothwell matching or bettering Kamara's numbers, but there's still some way to go.

Leeds are not the finished article yet, as Farke will no doubt point out in the coming weeks. There will be occasions where teams get the better of United's new-look midfield setup, exploiting weaknesses which are yet to present themselves, but it has been a positive start given the circumstances.

Factor in the potential new addition of a more defensive-minded midfielder on a free transfer and Leeds will be closer to restoring a balance and blend of skills throughout the middle of the park.