Credit: Manh Tung - Breaking Media

Samuel Fabre

Wed 18 February 2026 13:10, UK

Ethan Ampadu has been a crucial part of Leeds United’s success under Daniel Farke.

Against Birmingham in the FA Cup, the midfielder’s exclusion from the starting line-up was detrimental, and Farke turned the game with his introduction, with the Whites going on to win on penalties.

The captain’s influence on performances is massive at Elland Road, and he has featured in 25 games in all competitions this season.

This is seen in the Sofascore graphic below, which shows how much of an impact he had on the FA Cup tie, but what’s gone under the radar is how his long throws are causing chaos in the Premier League.

In fact, since December, no one is more effective from throw-ins than Ampadu.

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Leeds have been excellent at creating chances from Ethan Ampadu’s throw-ins

From a defensive standpoint, Ampadu has been excellent.

According to Sofascore, the captain has won 62.6 per cent of his ground duels and 63.5 per cent of his aerial duels in the Premier League this season.

With 51 interceptions and 33 tackles, he has been fantastic in his defensive third, but it’s even more impressive to see how much of an impact he is having on the attack.

Since December, Leeds have ranked first in the league for long throws into the box (62), shots following long throws into the box (20) and xG from shots after long throws into the box (3.03).

Ampadu has also made the most long throws into the box in that time (55).

In the 4-1 win over Crystal Palace on 20 December, the Elland Road outfit scored twice from throw-ins, with the Wales international taking both of them.

Ampadu has been key to the resurgence in form in LS11, and his ability from throw-ins is a weapon that is being utilised brilliantly.

While fans may wonder why the Whites took so long to be successful from long throws, it’s clear that this was something they planned for in the summer.

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Leeds purposefully signed tall players in the summer transfer window

Leeds have scored 12 times from set-pieces this season, which amounts to 33 per cent of their goals in the top flight.

The likes of Anton Stach, Jaka Bijol, Sean Longstaff, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Sebastiaan Bornauw were all brought in over the summer to make the team much bigger and stronger.

All of those players were identified by Farke to help strengthen the Whites from set-piece situations at both ends of the pitch.

With the top flight becoming more and more physical every single year, a huge amount of importance has been placed on dead-ball situations.

Contrary to the majority of other teams in the Premier League, Leeds don’t have a designated set-piece coach, as Farke works on them with the rest of his coaching and analysis staff.

What definitely helps is having several players over six feet tall, and the Whites haven’t been bullied in that aspect once this season.

And from an attacking point of view, having someone like Ampadu taking throw-ins will always make them dangerous.

For even more Leeds United news, head over to Football Insider.