Credit: Imago

Daniel Davis

Wed 29 April 2026 18:10, UK

Despite once plying his trade on the canals of Venice and being surrounded by mega-rich superstars at Chelsea, Ethan Ampadu looks totally at home with Leeds United.

He made the move to Elland Road after the Whites were relegated to the Championship in 2023 and has been a crucial player under Daniel Farke. It was fitting, then, that he was entrusted with the captaincy ahead of their promotion-winning campaign.

Still aged just 25, Ampadu has time on his side and a long, successful career ahead of him. Until he arrived in Yorkshire, though, he had been a nomad, having been out on loan at four different clubs after breaking through to the fringes of the first-team at Stamford Bridge.

Last summer was the first time in five years he had not been made to pack his bags. Instead, he was able to reflect on a job well done after skippering the Whites back into the Premier League. The armband could have weighed heavily, but it became the making of him.

With Leeds all but safe from relegation after a superb run of results in recent weeks, attention will soon turn to off-field matters. A new deal for Ampadu should be a priority.

Ethan Ampadu doesn’t get credit he deserves

Ampadu’s resilience and ability to rise anew from the ashes of a career spent bouncing from club to club should be commended. After all, this provided him with the mental strength needed to succeed at Leeds, where failure is, quite rightly, not tolerated.

He hasn’t looked back since.

His professional debut came for Exeter City back in 2016, aged 15 years, 10 months and 26 days. Then, 12 months later, he earned a big move to Chelsea. But despite the promise of riches and the opportunity to develop at Stamford Bridge, he stagnated instead.

He was then sent on loan to RB Leipzig, Sheffield United, Venezia and Spezia, four challenges which required hard resets and, often, demanded he learn a new language as well as tactical intricacies. It was no surprise, then, that he informed Chelsea he wanted to go.

Carlo Cudicini, the club’s loan manager, was sympathetic to his situation, and the Blues eventually agreed to let him go for a sensible valuation of around £10m. That opened the door for Leeds to swoop, with Farke making the difference after speaking to him personally.

Ampadu has repaid that show of faith, making 36 appearances this season. All the signs point to him remaining in Yorkshire for many years to come, although talks over a new contract have not yet reached a conclusion. As such, no announcement is forthcoming.

He is currently tied down until the summer of 2027, the same deal he agreed to after first putting pen to paper at the club in 2023. However, it is obvious that he deserves an extension and a lucrative pay rise on the £40,000 per week he currently takes home.

Leeds through and through, Ampadu has become a loyal club servant. He is trusted by team-mates and supporters alike and is the perfect man to skipper them into the future.

Outside of the club, though, Ampadu still does not receive enough praise.

Ampadu criticism tone deaf

It was a surprise to see Ampadu dragged through the mud somewhat after Leeds’ defeat by Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final. While the Whites admittedly didn’t seize their opportunity and, in fact, wilted under the pressure, some of the post-match backlash went too far.

Steven Gerrard, for example, declared that Ampadu and his midfield partner Ao Tanaka had been “run ragged” by Enzo Fernandez, who scored the only goal at Wembley. That criticism was not couched in the necessary context and didn’t match the eye test.

Ampadu dug in and fought valiantly. He was also the first to admit that Leeds had been guilty of freezing up somewhat under the spotlight, and for that deserved credit.

The cup was not the priority, but reaching their first semi-final for 39 years was still an impressive achievement. This was lost slightly as the rather unfair post-match narrative set in. Gerrard was guilty of being sucked in by it and did Ampadu a disservice.

“Of course and we go into every single game with that confidence that we can play and we can show our levels. It’s football, sometimes that doesn’t happen,” said Ampadu.

“I don’t think it’s anyone’s fault, it’s just a lesson learned to go into these next four.”

Those were the words of a player transformed, one who has stood up to be counted and set a shining example in the process. Pundits may still be slow to give him his flowers, but his impact and quality are clear to those who truly matter – the Leeds faithful and Farke.