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Patrick Bamford's bench role confirmed after another shocker in Leeds v Huddersfield
Patrick Bamford has confirmed his bench role for Leeds United this season after yet another poor performance against Huddersfield.
Bamford played a key role in the Whites’ 1-0 loss to Stoke City after he skyed his penalty in the 75th minute. The Potters went on to claim all three points at the best365 Stadium to confirm Leeds’ second defeat in 11 games.
The Englishman, despite his struggles in his last game, featured for Leeds on Saturday (28 October) in their emphatic 4-1 victory over Huddersfield Town, but he did nothing to show Daniel Farke that he deserved a shot in the starting lineup.
Bamford has been a key player for Leeds, especially in their first season back in the Premier League. However, since then he has struggled to be more than a bit-part player at Elland Road amid struggles with form and horrible injury setbacks.
Leeds are eyeing up promotion this season, as should be the expectation for a club of their size, but they’re not going to do that if Bamford gets a good amount of minutes this season.
He entered the fray against Huddersfield in the 79th minute with the game fully won for Farke. He had the chance to prove to the boss that he was fit and ready to play but offered very little.
The 30-year-old has bags of knowledge and was deemed an “experienced” player by Farke, as quoted by the Yorkshire Evening Post (27 October), but another poor performance means he won’t be in contention to start for Leeds.
Per SofaScore, Bamford managed just three passes from four attempted, one shot (off target), seven touches and just 0.02 expected goals. Understandably, Bamford is returning from injury and has the mental weight of his penalty miss to negotiate, but he will surely not be in Farke’s starting XI plans.
With Joel Piroe, Georginio Rutter and Crysencio Summerville all firing in recent fixtures, there is no obvious place for Bamford to enter the lineup. While he could prove an excellent option from the bench, his issues this season will most likely leave him on the bench for the remainder of the season, barring injuries.
In other Leeds United news, Phil Hay claims that big European clubs have been keeping tabs on a Whites player for a while and are still willing to sign him.