Latest news with #EthanAmpadu
Daily Mail
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Patrick Bamford knew the writing was on the wall for him at Leeds but his Elland Road exit will sting for a player who found a sense of belonging at the club, writes AADAM PATEL
Deep down, Patrick Bamford perhaps sensed that the writing was on the wall. When Leeds won promotion last season, the 31-year-old was at the heart of the celebrations. Bamford hadn't started a league game all term but after all those years of going from club to club, Leeds is where he felt most at home. The striker who plays the piano, violin, saxophone and guitar played Wagon Wheel on the guitar for his teammates, sang Unwritten alongside Ethan Ampadu and even ended up phoning Chris Wilder to apologise for singing that Wilder chant. Come the end of May, he was alongside the Kaiser Chiefs as they played 'I Predict a Riot' - a regular at Elland Road - at Temple Newsam in Leeds.
The Independent
10-06-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Mixed emotions in Wales camp after fightback ends in defeat
Ethan Ampadu admitted there were mixed emotions in the Wales camp after their extraordinary fightback against Belgium ultimately ended in failure. Wales recovered from conceding three goals in the opening 27 minutes of their World Cup qualifier in Brussels on Monday to draw level in the second half through Harry Wilson, Sorba Thomas and Brennan Johnson. But Kevin De Bruyne's late volley eventually saw Wales lose 4-3 – the first defeat of the Craig Bellamy era – and leaves the Dragons with an uphill battle to top the group and qualify automatically for next summer's World Cup. 'Obviously there's frustrations, our mentality is to win every game,' said Leeds captain Ampadu. 'We were very disappointed with the first half and the manner in which we conceded the goals. That's not really us. 'But to show the character to fight and come back, it is something Wales has shown for many years. 'We're proud of how we came back and the determination we showed. 'We gave ourselves a lot to come back to. We kind of got there, but we didn't finish it off. 'There's still a long way to go, a lot of points to play for and games to go out there and win.' Wales will resume their World Cup campaign away to Kazakhstan in September, one point behind new Group J leaders North Macedonia. Group favourites Belgium, ranked eighth in the world, are three points behind Wales with two games in hand and visit Cardiff in October. Midfielder Jordan James said: 'I think teams will watch this and fear us because it was a good performance. 'Against many big teams, the opposition sit back and protect the goal. 'We know we're good enough and have got the players to hurt teams. 'Sometimes they were able to get through because they've got top players, but when you do put teams under pressure, you see what can happen. 'We didn't give up (at 3-0 down) and a lot of nations would have given up. 'That's in our DNA. The game is never over. Even at 30 minutes, we know we've got ages left. If they can score three, we can score three. 'It's madness when you're involved in a game like that. You've got to try and keep a level head, but it's a hard one to take.'
BBC News
09-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
'Diarra would be an ambitious signing'
Leeds fans will get perhaps their first glimpse of potential new signing Habib Diarra when England play his Senegal side at Wembley on White's £22m bid was reported by L'Equipe, external over the weekend, and is the first concrete offer that has come to light since this summer's window 21-year-old Diarra is a box-to-box midfielder who is strong in-and-out of possession and he progresses the ball with trickery in his age, the Senegalese international has three years of Ligue 1 experience; while he captained Strasbourg last season and his four goals and five assists was the biggest contribution of his young owners, 49ers Enterprises, are known for going about their transfer business very like Ethan Ampadu and Largie Ramazani happened with very few rumours before those transfers were 49ers see this strategy as crucial to securing the best deals they can for the was arguably the Whites strongest area in last year's record-breaking 100 point season. Club-captain Ampadu, instant fan favourite Ao Tanaka, Illia Gruev and loanee Joe Rothwell formed a brick wall in the Leeds engine United have lost Rothwell and with the Premier League being a huge step up, it is vital the team is strengthened in all areas of the would be an ambitious signing and it is a measure of what the club think of him with the size of their opening risen through the French team's academy to captain the club into Europe, Diarra may need the Peacocks proved with May's parade what a sleeping giant they are, and Leeds in the Premier League will be a proposition for more from Adonis Storr at The Roaring Peacock, external
The Independent
05-06-2025
- General
- The Independent
Big players return and youth given chance
Wales resume their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign at home to group minnows Liechtenstein on Friday. Craig Bellamy's side took four points from their opening two games against Kazakhstan and North Macedonia in March. Here, the PA news agency looks at the main talking points surrounding the Cardiff City Stadium clash. Flaming June Summer fixtures have proved a major problem for Wales in recent years. Euro 2024 qualification hopes were seriously damaged by defeats to Armenia – then ranked 97th in the world – and Turkey two years ago, and manager Rob Page lost his job after an embarrassing goalless draw with Gibraltar and a 4-0 beating in Slovakia last June. Slipping up against Liechtenstein, who are 205th out of FIFA's 210 ranked nations, would top those disasters, and boss Bellamy will be keen to brush them aside ahead of Monday's challenging test with Belgium in Brussels. Big players are back Ethan Ampadu and Harry Wilson, arguably Wales' two most important players, are available again after missing the March qualifiers through injury. Leeds captain Ampadu has not played for his country since September due to knee issues, with Bellamy saying Wales do not possess another player with the midfielder's 'number six profile'. Fulham forward Wilson has been on fire since Bellamy took charge, scoring four times in six games as Wales won promotion to the top tier of the Nations League last autumn. No Allen farewell Wales great Joe Allen has retired since the last international camp, calling time on a 77-cap career which saw the former Swansea, Liverpool and Stoke midfielder play at a World Cup and two European Championships. Allen had previously retired from international football in February 2023 before Bellamy persuaded him to return to the Wales fold last autumn. There had been suggestions Allen would prolong his career to make one final Wales appearance in Cardiff, but Bellamy paid tribute to the 35-year-old saying: 'Joe has been one of our greatest players. All I could do was just thank him for this period.' New kids on the block At a time when Desire Doue and Lamine Yamal have proved on the biggest stage that if you are good enough, you are old enough, Wales are nurturing their own young talent. Full-back Ronan Kpakio has been promoted from the Under-19 squad after just six appearances and one league start for Cardiff, while Leeds midfielder Charlie Crew, also 18, is included as well. Whether the pair receive game-time against Liechtenstein remains to be seen, but Bellamy is keen to fast-track high-potential youngsters for them to have experience of the senior environment. Payback chance on Liechtenstein trolls Wales were at a low point last summer after Gibraltar's part-timers held them to a 0-0 friendly draw in Portugal. But that did not stop the official Liechtenstein X account poking fun at the Dragons with a spot of trolling online. 'Hello! Shall we schedule a friendly match?' proclaimed a nation without a competitive victory since 2020. The World Cup draw ensured there was no need for that – and now Wales have the perfect chance for revenge.
The Independent
28-05-2025
- General
- The Independent
Craig Bellamy picks Ronan Kpakio for Wales after failing to buy him for Burnley
Craig Bellamy has revealed he tried to sign Ronan Kpakio at Burnley after naming the Cardiff teenager in his Wales squad. Full-back Kpakio, 18 last Sunday, was the surprise name in Bellamy's 27-strong squad on Wednesday for upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Belgium. Kpakio made his first league start for Cardiff on the final day of the season at Norwich after being capped by Wales at various age-grade levels. 'I've known Ronan since he was very, very young and I've kept an eye on him,' said Bellamy, who was Vincent Kompany's assistant at Turf Moor between 2022 and 2024. 'Even last year, I tried to buy him for Burnley, so I'm fully aware of him. 'You might see it (Kpakio leaving Cardiff) this year. I don't think it will just be them (interested). 'His progression has been outstanding. I think his potential can be ridiculously high. 'He's very athletic, very intelligent. If he wasn't injured, I would have had him here in March.' Fellow teenager Charlie Crew is also included after, like Kpakio, impressing during Wales' training camp for English Football League players in Cardiff and Spain last week. Leeds midfielder Crew, 18, spent the second half of last season on loan at Doncaster, where he picked up a League Two title winner's medal. Bellamy is grateful to call on midfielder Ethan Ampadu – 'a remarkable player for us and someone we don't have with his profile at this present moment' – and Harry Wilson. Fulham forward Wilson has scored four goals in six games under Bellamy but missed the opening two World Cup qualifiers in March – a 3-1 home victory over Kazakhstan and a 1-1 draw in North Macedonia – with a fractured foot. Ben Davies and Brennan Johnson will also report for international duty after helping Tottenham end their 17-year trophy drought by winning the Europa League. Bellamy said: 'Of course it's a positive. You'll have a moment where you can congratulate players, and I love them being on a high. 'But also I have to be responsible for players that perhaps haven't had the season they would have expected.' Entering camp on a low note will be Sheffield United striker Kieffer Moore, who could win his 50th cap against Belgium in Brussels. Moore's poor touch in the Championship play-off final proved costly for the Blades as Tommy Watson accepted the invitation to score Sunderland's Wembley winner. Bellamy said: 'He's fine (Moore). We all make errors, that's the game. The simple fact is as well as your egos, everything else is forgotten, it's not going to serve you here. 'Whether they're coming in on a trampoline or with a ball round their neck, off we go, in you go.' There is no place for Cardiff-born Manchester United striker Gabriele Biancheri, who attended Wales' training camp. Biancheri is also qualified to play for Canada through his mother and has accepted an invitation to join Jesse Marsch's Canucks squad this week as a 'training player'.
