Leeds United man using heartbreak and hat-trick of lows as fuel ahead of Chelsea FA Cup semi

A hat-trick of relegations, in consecutive seasons no less, formed part of Ampadu's introduction to life as a professional. His loans to Sheffield United, Venezia and Spezia all ended in the drop so it's fair to say that he came up the hard way. Even his first year at Leeds ended in heartache and tears on the pitch at Wembley after a Championship play-off final defeat by Southampton. But since then he has tasted the good life. A Championship title, promotion to the Premier League, captaining Leeds to an historic win at Old Trafford and now an FA Cup semi-final.

Having gone through the tougher times, he has learned to appreciate moments worth celebrating. Moments like conducting an entire city centre party, post promotion, from an open-top bus.

"It’s maybe why I went a bit too hard in the parade," he joked. "You have to become resilient, remember what you are doing it for and to create those good moments. For me they haven’t come around too often, we’ve been enjoying some here, but what I love about this place is we are striving to achieve a lot more. So hopefully this could be the start for something special but it’s taken a lot to get there."

For Daniel Farke, Ampadu and the players involved in that play-off final against the Saints, Wembley will inevitably serve a painful reminder when they go for their pre-match walkabout on Sunday. And then they must strive to put it behind them and replace it with a memory to treasure when they kick off against Chelsea.

"Naturally it will," he said. "With Leeds United, that’s our last memory there. But you have to park that, you have to remember how you felt and do everything you can to try to avoid that feeling again. When you’re in the momentum of the game, and you've got that adrenaline, you don’t get to focus on that. It might be the loudness, it might be bigger, but when you walk out you understand what Wembley comes with, all the memories that have happened there. But we are there to try to make more for ourselves."

He may have cut loose a little once the title was won last summer but like his manager, Ampadu tries to stay level during a season. Even with the prospect of an FA Cup final so tantalisingly close to his grasp. Leeds are one win from the final. Two wins from European football. Even just making it past Chelsea would be an historic moment for the club and an enormous feather in the cap of individuals in the squad.

"Of course it would be a magnificent achievement for this club," said the captain. "You could hear all the fans at the end of [the Wolves] game excited for it and we’re excited for it it too. So it’s going to be a big day for the club. But we don’t just want to be there for it to be a big day. We are going there with an aim. We know it’s going to be a difficult game but we know what we can bring to this game, the confidence we have in this squad and our ability to get to that final."