
Yet another British player has taken the brave step of venturing out of English football and into the German Bundesliga. This time, it’s 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 Nagelsmann’s system it is not surprising Leipzig have made the move for the Welshman. In this tactical analysis, I’ll look at Ampadu’s playing style, his statistics, and look at how he might fit into Nagelsmann’s style of play.
Statistical analysis
As I mentioned, initially the quality of Leipzig’s centre backs made Ampadu’s transfer look like a signing simply for depth in the squad. But with Naglesmann’s 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?
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