Joe Rodon suggests position he wants to see Ethan Ampadu playing for Leeds

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Joe Rodon has shared where he would like to see Ethan Ampadu playing next season after the pair formed a superb partnership at the heart of Leeds United’s defence during the last campaign.

Daniel Farke faces a number of tough decisions heading into the new season, and one of those involves who starts at centre-back for the Whites, particularly with Pascal Struijk now back from injury.

Of course, it was Joe Rodon and Ethan Ampadu who formed a superb partnership for the majority of the second-half of last season. But that move saw Ampadu pulled from his central midfield position where he had been so impressive following his permanent switch from Chelsea.

There are doubts over the Elland Road future of Liam Cooper, but Joe Rodon is back permanently. So it will be interesting to see who Farke’s picks at the heart of his backline.

Joe Rodon shares which role Ethan Ampadu should play next season

Speaking to LUTV about his partnership with Ampadu, Rodon suggested that he would prefer his countryman to be pushed forward.

“Pascal, obviously, it was unfortunate for him and how well he had [played], you know, in the first half of the season, but, yeah, of course, Ethan slots into that position easy,” he said.

“He is a player that can play in many positions and I think that’s credit to him. Yeah, I think I don’t want to confuse him too much, so I would rather him in the midfield for now, but, yeah, well, we will see what happens.”

A spine Leeds can build side around

Leeds are blessed with some outstanding centre-back options, with Rodon and Struijk seemingly well on their way to becoming the best partnership in the division before the Dutchman sustained his injury.

There were times when Leeds appeared to miss Ampadu in midfield, particularly in the handful of games where Ilia Gruev and Glen Kamara struggled with being outnumbered by opponents. So it would be a huge boost to the club’s promotion hopes if they can rely on that spine which sees Ampadu play ahead of Rodon and Struijk.

With Rodon the oldest of the trio at 26, there is no reason why that cannot develop into such a vital component of the Leeds side for years to come, even if the Whites get themselves back at English football’s top table in the near future.