Daniel Farke says there is one player in his Leeds United squad he wishes he could duplicate.
Farke has plenty of players at his disposal who have enjoyed brilliant seasons, and they have received recognition for that over the last few days.
Not only was Crysencio Summerville named both as the Championship’s POTS and in the TOTS, he was also awarded Leeds‘ players’ POTS last night.
Alongside Summerville, Ethan Ampadu and Georginio Rutter were also named in the TOTS, while Archie Gray scooped up the league’s YPOTS and EFL apprentice of the year.
Ampadu was also recognised as the club’s POTS last night, having played all but one of every minute in the Championship since joining in the summer from Chelsea for £7m.
Farke shares the one player he wishes he had more of at Leeds
Farke has had a number of players who have had to play in different positions over the course of the season. Sam Byram, Ampadu, Gray and Rutter are among those who fall under that category.
Ampadu has arguably had the most success in doing so, enjoying an incredible first half of the campaign in midfield, before then performing just as well at centre-back.
Despite the form of Ilia Gruev as a holding midfielder, it would be fair to say Ampadu has been missed in the middle of the park.
In his press conference earlier today, Farke was asked about whether Leeds miss Ampadu’s progressive passing in midfield, to which he claimed he wished he had more like him in the squad.
He said: “In general, passing skills is one of his strengths, but I wouldn’t label him a creative No. 10, he doesn’t play the final pass. I think we have players in this area on the pitch to initiate our attacks from the midfield point of view, I think for a centre-back he’s outstanding in his build-up skills.
“He has shown with a chipped ball, or assist to goals, remember the goal Georgi scored in the first half of the season this chipped ball. In this role he even has the freedom to have a bit more time on the ball to find the forward passes and wouldn’t label it we’re getting worse because he’s moving back.
“Ilia is also pretty good at finding vertical passes and also judge and rate Ethan in a midfield role very high. I also rate him in central defensive position and thank god he’s a player who delivers wherever we need him. Would be nice to have two or three players of his calibre.”
Ampadu shares what he wants from Luke Ayling before Boro vs Leeds
Luke Ayling, despite being on loan at Boro, was also in attendance at Leeds’ awards ceremony last night, as he picked up the ‘Leeds United Special Achievement’ Award alongside Liam Cooper and Stuart Dallas.
And Ayling could not escape a bit of flack from his former teammates, as Ampadu joked on stage what he wants from him before Leeds’ trip to Boro on Monday.
He said: “It is very exciting. I have been in years where I have been trying to avoid relegation so this is an exciting pressure, one that all of us are working hard to achieve.
“We want to give you fans what you truly deserve and that starts on Monday against Boro, so hopefully Bill [Luke Ayling] can put in a good word for us. Preparation for that game, then we see what happens after that.”
