Leeds United enjoyed a fantastic evening in Wales on Tuesday night as they hammered Swansea on their own patch with an emphatic 4-0 win.
The Whites ran out comfortable winners against Luke Williams' side as they were 2-0 up after just ten minutes, thanks to early goals from Crysencio Summerville and Joel Piroe.
A double from Wilfried Gnonto, with one goal on either side of half time, ensured that Daniel Farke's team returned to Yorkshire with all three points in their pocket.
Leeds have now won their last seven matches in succession in the Championship, and this phenomenal run of form has taken them up to second in the table, albeit having one more game than Southampton – who are two points behind – in third.
Whilst the likes of Summerville, Gnonto, and Georginio Rutter have caught the eye with their attacking brilliance, solid defensive work has been at the heart of the club's impressive form and Glen Kamara has played a big role in their solidity.
The Finland international joined from Rangers last summer and Leeds struck gold with that signing, alongside the addition of Ethan Ampadu from Chelsea, as his value has soared since his emergence as a first-team regular.
Glen Kamara's value in September 2023
By September of last year, FootballTransfers placed Kamara's xTV (Expected Transfer Value) at €2.1m (£1.8m) as he did not make his first start for the club until the 23rd of that month.
The central midfielder arrived in Yorkshire off the back of a difficult season with Rangers in Scotland, and there was no guarantee that he would hit the ground running or be a success in the Championship.
He only started 12 of his 22 Scottish Premiership appearances under Gio van Bronckhorst and Michael Beale combined throughout the 2022/23 campaign for the Light Blues.
The former Arsenal academy prospect only made 1.0 tackles and interceptions combined per match and lost 53% of his duels in total, which suggests that opposition players found it a little bit too easy to get the better of him in physical contests at times.
Kamara only averaged 48 minutes per appearance in the Scottish top-flight and that was seemingly not enough for him to showcase the best of his abilities with irregular starts and a number of cameos off the bench disrupting his rhythm.
Appearances
31
Minutes per game
78
Duel success rate
54%
Tackles + interceptions per game
1.7
Pass success rate
91%
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, the Finnish maestro played regular minutes during the 2021/22 Premiership season under van Bronckhorst and won a higher percentage of his duels and made more defensive interventions for his side.
Farke and Leeds were not deterred by his lack of game time and underwhelming performances for Rangers last season, as they were seemingly confident that they could get him back to his best on the pitch.
Glen Kamara's current market value
The German head coach has got Kamara firing and his current market value reflects that as his xTV has soared since his full debut for the club in September.
At the time of writing (14/02/2024), the 28-year-old dynamo's xTV on FootballTransfers stands at €4.8m (£4.1m) and this is a 129% increase on the €2.1m he was valued at earlier in the season.
His value has soared as a result of his regular game time and performances on the pitch for Leeds in the Championship this season, as he has emerged as a key player for Farke in the middle of the park.
Kamara has started 22 of his 24 appearances in the second tier so far this season, with an average of 77 minutes per match, and caught the eye with his superb displays.
He currently ranks within the top 7% of Championship midfielders for progressive passes (7.35) per 90, and the top 2% for his pass success rate (93.3%).
This shows that the former Rangers gem has been incredibly reliable in possession without being regressive and safe, as the talented whiz constantly looks to progress play to build attacks for his team.
Kamara, who was once hailed as "perfect" by ex-boss Neil McCann, has also been a strong performer with his defensive play for the Whites. The midfield metronome has won 59% of his duels and made 2.0 tackles and interceptions per game in the second tier.
This means that the impressive midfielder is winning a higher percentage of his duels and making more defensive interceptions per match than he did in either of his last two Premiership seasons.
Farke has, therefore, got the best out of the Finland international, who has been a key performer in and out of possession, and that has led to his soaring market value.
Although he has played at centre-back alongside Joe Rodon in recent weeks, Kamara has thrived alongside fellow summer signing Ethan Ampadu in midfield.
Ethan Ampadu's superb form for Leeds
The Wales international was snapped up from Chelsea ahead of the 2023/24 campaign and has been in superb form both as a defensive midfielder and at the heart of the defence.
He has started all 32 of the club's Championship matches so far this season, which speaks to how important Farke views him to his team's success.
The former Sheffield United loanee has made 3.3 tackles and interceptions per game on average and won 56% of his duels in the division, which shows that he has been strong in his physical battles.
Ampadu ranks within the top 19% of midfielders in the Championship or higher for interceptions (1.44), clearances (2.10), and blocks (1.53) per 90 so far this season.
He has, therefore, been an above-average performer in several key metrics whilst playing for, as it stands, the second-best team in the league, which made him the perfect player next to Kamara as his defensive play allowed the gem to excel in possession.
The 23-year-old, whose value also soared last year, has recently slotted in at centre-back and, as you can see from the statistics above, has formed a phenomenal partnership with Rodon at the back.
Overall, Ampadu and Kamara have both been fantastic signings for Leeds as they have both thrived in Farke's system and contributed to the club's charge towards automatic promotion, which will hopefully be achieved by the end of the season.
