23-year-old has undoubtedly been Leeds United’s player of the season

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There are a few players who can throw their hat into the ring for Leeds United’s player of the season.

Leeds currently sit top of the Championship on an impressive 82 points from 38 matches following a run since the turn of the New Year which has seen them win 12 of their last 13 league matches.

Such an impressive campaign means that Leeds have needed contributions from across numerous areas of the pitch. Farke’s squad has three players in double figures for goals, one man with the most assists in the Championship, and the division’s best defensive record.

Narrowing it down to just four contenders, Joe Rodon, Ethan Ampadu, Georginio Rutter and Crysencio Summerville are undoubtedly the front-runners for the award at the end of the season.

While all four of them have been brilliant, there is one man who stands above the rest and that is Ampadu, in what is his first season as a Leeds player following his £7 million arrival from Chelsea.

Why Ethan Ampadu is Leeds United’s player of the season

Ampadu has played all but one minute of every league game for Leeds this term, and aside from a little blip around November/December, it is rare that he has dropped below an 8/10 for his performances.

The 23-year-old spent just over the whole first half of the season playing in central midfield and immediately established himself as one of Leeds’ best signings in many years.

However, following injury to Pascal Struijk on Boxing Day, Ampadu has been forced to drop slightly deeper and play as a centre-back, but in no way have his performances dipped.

Leeds have conceded just three goals in the 12 matches he has played in defence alongside Joe Rodon, while also taking on the responsibility of the captain’s armband.

Rodon believes that is a role Ampadu has slotted seamlessly into and it is hard to disagree. All those factors make him a very worthy winner of the club’s player of the season.

What Daniel Farke has said about Ampadu’s performances for Leeds

Ampadu has become Farke’s go-too man this season and the Leeds boss even admitted recently that he is a player he simply never wants to drop from the starting XI.

Farke has spoke on numerous occasions about just how good he has been this season, and here is just one snippet of that.

Speaking last week, he said: “It’s a credit to his personality and quality, he’s in cruise control. At the moment he’s impressive with his consistency. Such an impressive defensive player, but also in build-up and leadership.

“I always want to have him on the pitch, he looks sharp and prepared. I love his mentality, he does a lot between games, to recover, he’s very professional and mature for a young age.

“He’s not the only player but one player that is in the spotlight. I’m pretty pleased with Ethan – we assess him every week, hopefully he stays without injuries in great shape.”