Leeds United may be facing another Kalvin Phillips situation: View | OneFootball

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Despite a rocky start to the season, Leeds United are now performing quite similarly to when they were last in the Championship.

Back in the 2019/20 season, under Marcelo Bielsa, Leeds hit a groove that just could not be stopped. In their final league game of that season, a 4-0 win over Charlton Athletic, their squad featured names like Illan Meslier, Luke Ayling, Ben White, Liam Cooper, Pascal Struijk, Stuart Dallas, Jack Harrison, Pablo Hernandez, Patrick Bamford, and Leif Davis.

It was a Championship juggernaut, one of the best, and most exciting, teams to watch in recent second tier memory, but there was one notable omission from that squad: Kalvin Phillips. The defensive midfielder didn't feature in Leeds' last three games before their return to the Premier League. It was no issue though as they won all three by an aggregate score of 8-1.

After his outstanding season with the club, there was plenty of interest in the midfielder from top tier sides like Manchester United. Luckily, for the club, they were bale to hold on to Phillips, and he was an important part of the team until his departure in the summer of 2022.

With the Whites finding themselves back in the Championship, and performing well, they find themselves in a similar position with another defensive midfielder.

Premier League interest in Ethan Ampadu

Reports from Football Insider have said that there is top flight interest in Ampadu, as well as fellow teammates Crysencio Summerville and Wilfried Gnonto.

With the January transfer window fats approaching, Leeds will have their work cut out with trying to keep all three at the club. But losing Ampadu would be the hardest to deal with.

Losing Ethan Ampadu in January would really hurt their promotion push

It's going to be a tight battle at the top of the Championship for the two illusive automatic promotion spots. Leicester City and newly promoted Ipswich Town currently occupy those spaces, but Leeds certainly look well set to challenge them.

At the time of writing, Ampadu has played every single minute for the club, this season, in the league. Daniel Farke has a big pool of midfielders to call on, with Ilia Gruev, Archie Gray, and Glen Kamara being a few of the other options, but the Welsh international has held his own.

He's been the constant in the middle of the park for Leeds, and having to find a way to replace that is a tough ask, even with the club's financial powers.

The Whites believe that the 23-year-old is: "crucial to their promotion bid," according to Football Insider. His defensive capabilities allow whoever is lined up alongside him in the midfield to have a much more free role. Gray will tend to drift out towards the right touchline. If Ampadu wasn't there to protect the back line, the 17-year-old would be a lot more restricted in the way that he can play.

Not only does the Welshman's presence massively help his teammates, but also his manager. Farke has been able to utilise more and more of the seemingly endless attacking assets at his disposal; this would be much harder to do without someone like Ampadu.

The fact that he only joined the club this summer makes a departure in the new year less likely, purely because those scenarios rarely happen. Leeds managed to hold on to a defensive midfielder of the past, and it was massively to their benefit. They will find themselves having to fend off big offers in January, but it will be worth it in the end.