Don Goodman shares new Patrick Bamford exit verdict at Leeds United
Don Goodman does not believe Patrick Bamford will have any thoughts of exiting Leeds United before the summer transfer window closes.
Bamford has started the Whites’ opening two Championship matches among the substitutes, with Mateo Joseph instead preferred up top.
The Englishman also has Joel Piroe to contend with for a starting spot, while numerous other strikers have been linked with a move to Leeds.
Goodman says it “makes sense” for Joseph to start for Leeds and reckons it is down to Bamford to show he’s worthy of a starting spot after his early-season snub.
“It’s a difficult one because as a player, you’d back yourself every time to win that starting position,” he told MOT Leeds News.
“If any player doesn’t do that, it’s not a player worth keeping. Piroe isn’t a true number nine – more of a hybrid with a 10 – and he’ll be desperate to prove his worth after an ‘okay’ season last season.
“For Bamford, it’s all about the injuries with him. A fully fit, fully firing Bamford would be Daniel Farke’s first choice, but with all the injuries he’s had and the pre-season Mateo Joseph had, it makes sense to go with the latter.
“If Bamford is slightly considering leaving, it means he’s not backing himself to earn back his spot and for me that is not a positive.”
Patrick Bamford not the man for Leeds United
A fully-fit and in-form Bamford is one of the best strikers outside of the Premier League. However, staying fit is easier said than done.
Bamford scored just eight goals in 33 Championship appearances last season – 15 of those starts – which is an underwhelming return.
Leeds missed out on automatic promotion for a few reasons, a lack of killer quality in certain matches being one of them.
This is not to say the 30-year-old cannot do a job as a back-up or indeed as a one-in-three-game starter, but Leeds need a prolific striker.
Finding one of those is not easy, but the club have a little under two weeks to do so with the Crysencio Summerville money.
That really could prove the difference between returning to the Premier League after a couple of years away, or another year in the second tier.
In other Leeds United news, the club may have been given a boost in their pursuit of Sunderland’s Jack Clarke.
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