British press reacts to Ethan Ampadu display as Leeds United midfielder plays v Latvia
Leeds United midfielder Ethan Ampadu was hailed as the star performer for Wales in their 2-0 Euro 2024 qualifying win away at Latvia.
The 21-year-old played the full 90 minutes alongside the inexperienced – but equally impressive – Jordan James in central midfield.
Ampadu was assured throughout as Wales kick-started their qualifying hopes with a battling victory in Riga on Monday [11 September].
The British press were left particularly impressed by what they saw from the former Chelsea player on his 46th cap.
Wales Online named Ampadu as their star man with a 9/10 rating, with reporter Glen Williams adding [11 September]: “Notable how progressive he was with his distribution, feeding [Aaron] Ramsey, [Harry] Wilson and [Brennan] Johnson in particular with accuracy and ease.
“Sent Johnson through with a fantastic pass early on. Defensively excellent, too.”
Ampadu was wasteful from a few chances, but he otherwise stood out in the centre of the pitch.
Ian Mitchelmore said on BBC Sport‘s live blog [11 September]: “Jordan James and Ethan Ampadu have looked so composed in midfield.”
Long may it continue
The fact Ampadu has already earned approaching half a century of caps for his country before the age of 22 is pretty remarkable.
And that is not to mention the near 100 combined appearances he has accrued in the Premier League, Serie A and the Bundesliga.
Leeds somehow landed Ampadu for around £7million, with that deal looking like a bigger steal the more time goes on.
Seeing the Welshman thrive on international duty can only be a positive, but returning fit is of course the most important thing.
After coming through 135 minutes of action against Latvia and South Korea unscathed, he should be raring to go against Millwall next weekend.
If he can replicate what he showed against Latvia, Leeds will have no problem winning the midfield battle at The Den.
In other Leeds United news, a Whites player has been named as one of the best “data-driven signings” of the summer window across Europe.