One thing evident on Saturday afternoon was that Leeds United missed the bite provided by Ethan Ampadu in midfield. That steely style of play that only Ampadu is capable of in this Leeds squad.
But with Pascal Struijk missing due to an ankle problem, and with Max Wober playing on the left of the defence in Junior Firpo’s absence, it meant Ampadu was forced to drop into defence with Joe Rodon.
Ampadu’s return from injury in December saw him start games away from home in midfield against Oxford and Derby. Leeds secured wins and clean sheets in those, with Ampadu playing a crucial role.
In Joe Rothwell and Ao Tanaka, Leeds have two excellent ball-playing midfielders but lose that aggression in midfield with Ampadu. The lack of cover at centre-back is something Daniel Farke wants to address.
Leeds now open talks to reunite Daniel Farke with £10m defender
Leeds are in the market for a centre-back and Nottingham Forest’s Andrew Omobamidele is a target. He was given his professional debut by Farke at Norwich in 2021, going on to play 55 times for Norwich.
That earned him a move to Forest in the summer of 2023 for £11m, playing 14 times in his first season but injury this campaign has limited him to one Carabao Cup outing and Forest hope to cash in on him.
The Sun say Forest want £10m for the Ireland international. Leeds have opened talks while Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United are keen, but Leeds are willing to do a deal where a permanent move is obligatory.
What Daniel Farke has said about Omobamidele in the past…
Since joining Leeds, Farke has been linked with bringing in a number of his old Norwich players. Max Aarons came the closest, almost ending up at Leeds before choosing to join Bournemouth late on.
Then there have been links with Emi Buendia and Ben Godfrey. Villa’s Buendia rejected Leeds in the summer and Godfrey is about to join Ipswich from Serie A side Atalanta in the coming hours and days.
Having handed Omobamidele his Premier League debut in September 2021, Farke heaped praise on the young Irishman in quotes published by OTB: “For such a young age, with [his] debut – outstanding.”
But as aforementioned, signing a centre-back frees up Ampadu’s duty in defence and allows him to return to midfield where he is most-effective. Omobamidele looks like the one Leeds want to bring in.
Receive a digest of our best Leeds content each week direct to your mailbox
