Leeds United supporters will be frustrated at Ethan Ampadu developments pre-Sheffield United: View | OneFootball

Ethan Ampadu is one of Leeds United's best players and both he and Leeds fans would have relished the midfield battle against Sheffield United.

The timing of Ethan Ampadu's recent injury could not be worse from either his or Leeds United's perspective, with Daniel Farke's side facing Sheffield United on Friday evening.

It's a huge clash at the top of the table between two of the favourites for automatic promotion and will see Jayden Bogle face his former side and manager in Chris Wilder. The right-back may well be relishing the challenge already, which is something that could also be said of Ampadu after a loan stint at Bramall Lane during the 2020/21 campaign.

The Blades struggled that season, even with some players performing well individually. However, Ampadu was not one of the standout performers, despite notching 29 appearances that season. The then-Chelsea loanee was highly thought of and started 23 of their 38 league games as either a central defender in a back three or in defensive midfield.

Ampadu was only a developing 19 and 20-year-old that year, but plenty of the Sheffield United fanbase have since written him off as a player, even after Ampadu's successful stints in Italy with Venezia and Spezia where he improved further technically, physically, and mentally; Leeds are seeing the very best of that now.

Ethan Ampadu's importance to Leeds United

For someone so young, Ampadu has played a staggering amount of minutes and games in his career, and he has also dealt with plenty of heartbreak in that time too. The Welshman was relegated for three seasons in a row, starting with that year at Bramall Lane, before joining Leeds.

His first season at Elland Road, from a personal perspective, was absolutely excellent. He established himself as one of the league's best midfielders and the heartbeat of the Leeds team. He would endure a different type of heartbreak with a play-off final loss at Wembley, though.

All that has done is help him to develop into the leader and monstrous midfield presence that he is today at the age of 24. Ampadu was signed last summer for a bargain fee rising to £10 million with add-ons, but he has been nothing short of outstanding and Leeds got themselves a deal worth every penny when they paid an initial fee of just £7 million which could rise to the upper limit with performance-related add-ons.

Clearly, Ampadu is young enough to improve, yet has vast experience for his tender age in major European leagues and for his country as well. The move to Leeds also gave him his first permanent home in some time, and he has certainly got his feet under the table quickly at Elland Road and made West Yorkshire his own.

He is already arguably the club's best player after becoming such a consistent and durable figure in their engine room. You wouldn't know that he'd played almost every game last season given the quality, consistency, and relentlessness of his displays; Ampadu missed just one game in the entirety of the club's play-off campaign.

He's perhaps exceeded expectations as well, and his performances in defensive midfield, collecting the ball from the centre-backs and goalkeeper and disrupting play, have earned him high praise from the fanbase, where he has quickly become a fan favourite.

He’s a Premier League player in waiting, and given his age, there’s also plenty of room to develop and grow further before he hits his peak. Despite many fans being unsure of whether he would be deployed in midfield or the defence, he has proven to be a high-quality, press-resistant defensive midfielder, or a calm and composed central defender.

Flashes of that were perhaps seen in South Yorkshire but not to the extent he's shown in West Yorkshire. His performances so far have certainly solidified him as being Leeds’ best player in the minds of many, and him winning the club's Player of the Year award last season was duly deserved.

He’s been a near-perfect signing and played almost every minute of every game so far, until recent events which will frustrate both Ampadu and the Leeds fanbase immensely.

Ampadu's injury is a huge boost for Chris Wilder and Sheffield United

The 24-year-old's remarkable run in the side has now ended, as the Leeds skipper is set to be out for around 10 weeks, according to Daniel Farke. That's after damaging his lateral knee ligaments in the win over Coventry City. It's a huge blow for the remainder of the games in 2024 potentially. Not only is he captain and one of the first names on the teamsheet, but a case could be made that he is Leeds' most influential player.

On top of that, he is a starting midfielder but the primary cover at centre-back, meaning Leeds must find other solutions. Because he is both a first-team midfielder and defender, losing Ampadu is one of the most problematic issues for Farke to overcome.

His return will be close to January after he was forced off just before half-time against Coventry and was replaced by Ao Tanaka. Farke has confirmed that surgery is not required but losing last year's Player of the Season is a huge loss. Some Sheffield United fans may not see it that way, but Ampadu's quality is undeniable, and it's somewhat of a surprise that he remained a Leeds player this summer.

Leeds' recently named club captain played in 63 games last season for Farke's side and his country, proving to be a consistent figure for both sides. Wilder saw his potential and the quality he possessed, given his regular minutes under the 57-year-old, but Ampadu would have relished the opportunity to stick it to the Blades fans who refuse to admit that Leeds have a gem on their hands.

The majority don't rate him but he is one of the Championship's very best individual talents and would have taken pleasure in a battle between two of the league's very best teams, where he could strut his stuff and showcase just how far he has come and developed since that Premier League loan stint under Wilder in difficult circumstances for any player to thrive in.

This year should be his last one as a Championship player, irrespective of whether Leeds achieve promotion at the second time of asking, but he is vital to the club's success and appears settled and happy in West Yorkshire so far. He is the sort of player and character to build the team around, but Leeds need an important factor in their quest for promotion to be healthy as soon as possible.

For now, they will face Sheffield United without him, which gives the visitors the upper hand given their much healthier squad in terms of the vital promotion pieces in the first-team.