‘By An Absolute Country Mile’ – Leeds United Star Hugely Impresses Ex-Midfielder | OneFootball

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Former Premier League star Danny Murphy has heaped praise on Leeds United skipper Ethan Ampadu for the way he has grown this season and feels he was the best player on the pitch against Tottenham Hotspur on Monday.

Led by the 25-year-old on the pitch, the Whites continued with their unbeaten run, holding Tottenham to a 1-1 draw and thus stretching the streak to seven games in the league.

Ampadu grabbed the spotlight by contributing both at the top end of the pitch as well as at the back, covering an impressive 11.25 kilometres over the full 90 minutes.

He also had an 85 per cent passing accuracy, orchestrating play and yet again proving why club legend Dominic Matteo called him ‘the glue’ in the team.

Murphy was impressed with what he saw from Ampadu, insisting that the showing the number four put on against Tottenham was as good a performance as he has seen from him since his return to the Premier League.

He dubbed Ampadu the best player on the pitch by some distance and lauded him for his reading of the game.

“He was absolutely outstanding. Best player on the pitch by an absolute country mile”, Murphy said on talkSPORT (11th May, 22:13).

“He has had a terrific season, grown as a player, as a leader, carries the team, all aspects of his game in the middle of the pitch are tidy.

“He is physically good, he reads the game well, passes progressively through the lines, very rarely makes a mistake.

“I mean, that was as good a performance as I have seen him play since he has come back to the Premier League. Honestly, he was outstanding.”  

When Leeds signed Ampadu there were some doubts over his ability to step up to Premier League level in the event of promotion, but he has comprehensively ended those.

Leading by example, the midfielder has protected the Leeds defence and played a key role in keeping the Whites out of the bottom three.