Leeds United are five games away from the end of the regular season, and the future of Liam Cooper is one that looks to be nearing a resolution.
Five games stand in the way of Leeds United and promotion back to the Premier League – eight if they are forced to go up via a trip to Wembley in the playoffs.
In that time, it’s clear that some of Daniel Farke’s squad are going to be indispensable, two of those being signings made this season in Joe Rodon and Ethan Ampadu.
Farke needs to keep Rodon and Ampadu together
Leeds’ form in 2024 has been remarkable for a few reasons, with a couple of personnel changes aiding Farke’s overall plan from game to game.
Patrick Bamford leading the line is one of them, Junior Firpo’s presence down the left channel is another, Georgi Rutter in the ’10’ is a third, but the most important has arguably been Ethan Ampadu and Joe Rodon forming a rock solid partnership at the back.
Farke has made it clear that in an ideal world, Pascal Struijk would replace Ampadu at the back, leaving the Wales international to revert back into midfield, but circumstances have forced the manager’s hand, and it’s actually proved to be a huge benefit to the side for now.
Rodon-Ampadu as a pairing had conceded just four goals in the buildup to the Coventry City game, which is less than Leeds have conceded in the last two games played without that pairing (five v Watford and Chelsea).
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Liam Cooper may have already played his last game for Leeds
Perhaps the most damning development that proves how important Rodon and Ampadu as a duo are right now was the draw at Watford, where Leeds needed a change in the second half.
Left-back Junior Firpo was introduced in place of Liam Cooper who started, meaning Ampadu dropped into the back four and Leeds as a whole looked much more balanced and dominant.
Farke has already said he “didn’t like” the idea of breaking up this duo, post-Watford via LeedsLive:
“I trust Liam and Charlie there, but it was tough and hard for me to do that. When two players so well together like Joe and Ethan you are reluctant to break it up. There were no other options for me tonight. I didn’t like it, but we had no other option.”
With five games left, you would imagine that we’re not going to see Cooper play again outside of injury problems or last-minute defensive reinforcements to see out games.
With his contract up in the summer as well, we may have seen Cooper play his final game at Leeds.
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