Mateusz Klich sends message to Leeds star who’s blown him away
Ethan Ampadu led Leeds United’s promotion celebrations as they paraded the Championship trophy through the city.
Ampadu has been a rock-solid figure for Daniel Farke’s side across the last two years, and after he stood in for Liam Cooper and Pascal Struijk last term, Ampadu was given the captaincy full-time this season.
Farke and his squad have been in celebratory mood for almost all of the last three weeks after promotion, the club’s record points tally, and the Championship title were all sealed on three consecutive Mondays.
Manor Solomon’s injury-time strike to beat Plymouth 2-1 on Saturday (3 May) meant the Whites finished at the summit to beat Burnley on goal difference, after both sides accumulated a record 100 points each.
Ethan Ampadu leads Leeds celebration as Klich responds
United’s historic season has culminated with a weekend to remember on both the south coast and in West Yorkshire, and Ampadu was front and centre of their open-top bus tour around Leeds city centre.
Over 150,000 Leeds fans packed into the streets as three buses slowly crept their way through England’s biggest one-club city, and that led Jayden Bogle to bill the Peacocks’ support as the “best in the world”.
| Season | Appearances | Starts | Goals/Assists | Clean Sheets | Yellow/Red Cards |
| 2023–24 | 54 | 54 | 2/2 | 22 | 11 |
| 2024–25 | 32 | 29 | 0/0 | 19 | 7 |
Ampadu, who joins legends like Liam Cooper, Gordon Strachan and Bobby Collins as a promotion-winning captain at Elland Road, certainly enjoyed himself as the heart and soul of Leeds’ celebrations.
Mateusz Klich, who etched his own name into the history books as Marcelo Bielsa’s midfield engine five years ago, approved of Ampadu’s antics in a social media post which featured the Welshman.
On his Instagram story (5 May), Klich said: “Man of the match today – Ethan Ampadu”.
Ethan Ampadu is Premier League-ready at Leeds United
Ampadu is far from the first player Klich has wished well after Leeds’ title celebrations, as the Polish midfielder also messaged the out-of-contract Junior Firpo with the left-back’s future under a cloud.
Klich wasn’t only unable to properly celebrate promotion in 2020 due to the Covid-19 lockdown, but was also part of the squad which wasn’t built upon and ultimately led to Marcelo Bielsa’s dismissal in 2022.
Leeds owners 49ers Enterprises are set to take a different approach this time around though, and Mick Brown told Football Insider that at least six new signings are planned to strengthen Farke’s squad this summer.
Ampadu, however, is certainly in the category of player who is seen as ready-made to take the next steps at Elland Road, and when Leeds walk out in the Premier League next season, expect their number four to be right at the forefront.