Ethan Ampadu: Maturing Leeds United player can give Wales fans hope
- Published
Ethan Ampadu played only 12 senior Chelsea games, but has been a Wales regular since he was a teenager
International friendly: Wales v South Korea |
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Venue: Cardiff City Stadium, Date: Thursday, 7 September Kick off: 19:45 BST |
Coverage: Live on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru, BBC Sounds, BBC Sport website and app, plus live text |
Highlights: Match of the Day Wales. BBC One Wales from 22:40 BST and later on demand |
There is a reason Ethan Ampadu speaks with an authority that goes beyond his years.
And perhaps it should give Wales fans hope when he talks of Robert Page's side putting their Euro 2024 qualifying hopes back on track this week.
He may only be 22, but Ampadu has already squeezed more into his fledging career than many manage in a footballing lifetime.
He has played top-flight football in England, Germany and Italy, appeared at two major finals and gained 44 caps since first being drafted into the Wales set-up seven years ago.
His days as a Chelsea player out on loan have ended after he joined Leeds on a permanent deal this summer but, while Ampadu is ready to settle, it will not be for second best.
"Compared to the standards we have set, it was not us in those games," Ampadu says of the back-to-back defeats to Armenia and Turkey that have placed pressure on Wales and manager Page heading into Monday's qualifier in Latvia.
"Everyone knows that as soon as you see a Wales team and how we performed in those games - that's not us.
"We all know we can perform much better than that."
Wales' first opportunity to show how good they can be comes when they play a friendly against South Korea in Cardiff on Thursday, with Ampadu going into the game with a focus that has come from the end of his wandering days.
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For a while this summer he was Chelsea's longest-serving player, despite having spent four of his six years at the club away from Stamford Bridge.
Loan spells at Leipzig, Sheffield United, Venezia and Spezia have been valuable, albeit with the sting of being involved in three successive relegations.
Just as with Wales, Ampadu wants to put lessons learned into practice after a £7m summer move to Leeds.
"Personally it's nice to be settled, when you're settled and stable somewhere, that distraction of being on loan is gone. It's nice to be somewhere to call home," he said of his switch to Elland Road, where he has played every Championship minute so far this season under Daniel Farke.
"I'm grateful for all loan moves I did, the years I was at Chelsea, how I developed. But I'm settled now and I can hopefully play in one position, concentrate on it and take everything I've learned in the past and put it together now."
Ampadu says he would still be happy to move around the pitch having split his time between central defence and midfield.
Yet the position once held by another Welsh leader at Leeds, midfielder Terry Yorath, is one that he seems most excited by.
"I'll always feel comfortable playing different positions, but when you play in one position every training session, you pick up the finer little details which can help take you to the next level," he said.
Even before Ampadu won his first senior cap, Ashley Williams - Wales' captain at the time - was tipping the then 17-year-old to be a future skipper.
Aaron Ramsey wears the armband now, but Ampadu is happy to be considered an old head on young shoulders - and is accepting of the pressure that comes with that after recent displays.
"Maybe it comes natural to me, but it's more just about helping the team achieve things," said Ampadu.
"If that means more becoming a leader then I'm happy to do that.
"Whenever a camp doesn't go as well as we would like, there's always been a bit of pressure. You are aware of the outside and everything that comes with it.
"Within ourselves and the squad, we all know what we have to do and we all know we can perform much better than that.
"Whether things have gone right or wrong, we've always tried to stick to our principles.
"That's what has got the success we've had in the previous years.
"It's just the fact that in the last camp we didn't perform to the way we usually do and the standards we have set.
"It's about reminding ourselves of those standards and what has got us that success in the past. I'm sure that's the baseline for us in these games coming up."
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