Ethan Ampadu 2019/20 – scout report

Yet another British player has taken the brave step of venturing out of English football and into the German Bundesliga. This time, its Ethan Ampadu, a young progressive centre back who was no doubt drawn to RB Leipzig from Chelsea by the opportunity to work with new coach Julian Nagelsmann. The transfer initially seemed odd, with Leipzig having several quality centre backs and defensive midfield players, but when you look at the requirements of Nagelsmanns system it is not surprising Leipzig have made the move for the Welshman.  In this tactical analysis, Ill look at Ampadus playing style, his statistics, and look at how he might fit into Nagelsmanns style of play.

Statistical analysis 

As I mentioned, initially the quality of Leipzigs centre backs made Ampadus transfer look like a signing simply for depth in the squad. But with Naglesmanns 3-5-2 being implemented at Leipzig it looks increasingly likely Ampadu will get plenty of minutes at the club, especially if injuries in defensive midfield or central defence occur.

So, just how high can we expect Naglesmann to rate him in comparison to his previous central defenders and his current ones?

Ampadu is a good passer of the ball, particularly in long-range passes and so how do his passes compare to Nagelsmanns centre backs at Hoffenheim? Surprisingly, despite playing fewer minutes than both players, Ampadus passing struggles statistically. Kevin Akpoguma and Kevin Vogt both attempted nearly two more passes into the final third and were more accurate. Ampadu averaged 6.98 passes into the final third per game with an accuracy of 68.4%, while Kevin Vogt averaged 8.62 passes into the final third per game with an accuracy of 72% accuracy.

If we compare him to Leipzigs current crop, Ampadu makes on average more passes into the final third per game than Ibrahima Konaté with marginally higher accuracy, but Konaté is much more successful in dribbling. He makes more dribbles per game at a much higher accuracy (80.2%) compared to Ampadus 52.4% and so, as I will get onto, their partnership within a back three may be something which interests Nagelsmann.

Ampadu can certainly pass a ball, therefore, in his games at Leipzig I would expect these stats to go up, particularly as Id expect Ampadu to attempt more passes as part of Leipzigs sides. This is something I feel he has to do from centre back. Much of his role as a defensive midfielder at Chelsea was to facilitate the build-up by dropping deep and playing mostly safe short passes. Something Id like to see him add, which shows in his statistics, is more passes into the final third. As mentioned, Ampadus long-range passing is excellent and so if he can work on this further he can use it to play much more effective passes into the final third. We can see this below in Chelseas game against Sheffield Wednesday, where Willian makes an excellent run but Ampadus head is down, and he instead just plays a wall pass and recycles possession again. Higuains movement also draws the centre back out of position, leaving room for a weighted pass to the opposite winger.

How does his skillset suit Nagelsmann and RB Leipzig?

Tactically, Ampadu could be an interesting tool in unlocking sides for Leipzig next year. This is again thanks to his long-range passing skills. This kind of pass may help Leipzig in particular due to their strikers Timo Werner and Yussuf Poulsen. Poulsen being a strong target man, may look to receive long balls from Ampadu in order to bypass high presses from the opposition, whereas if the opposition pushes too high, the pacey Timo Werner may be able to latch onto a high through ball from Ampadu. In situations like the one below where Hoffenheim occupy the defenders while the wing-back creates an overload, a player who can sit deep and has the ability to play long passes would be ideal for Nagelsmann. When you combine this with the excellent dribbling skills of Ibrahima Konaté, you have the makings of a good partnership.

In the build-up phase, Leipzigs versatile build up from last season looks as though it will be built upon wit