Leeds United told to seal new striker signing in January as Phil Hay details Patrick Bamford update – Sky Sports pundit
We’re delighted to welcome former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson as our exclusive columnist as each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Leeds United…
Paul Robinson is concerned by the reliability of Patrick Bamford with the Leeds United striker suffering yet another setback during the World Cup break.
While he’s expected to be back in action before the end of the year, the 28-year-old has still had to jet out to Germany to undergo surgery on his groin [Phil Hay, The Athletic].
It is understood that the procedure is a minor one but it means Bamford has missed a good chunk of training ahead of the Premier League season restarting after Christmas.
His Leeds teammates are currently in Spain preparing to return to action in a couple of weeks’ time and will play a friendly against Elche on Thursday (8 December).
Robinson has concerns about Bamford’s injury record over the last two seasons and has called on Jesse Marsch and Victor Orta to add a new striker in the upcoming January transfer window.
“It’s been too long,” Robinson told MOT Leeds News. “It’s been 12 to 18 months now since he was playing regularly and scoring goals.
“He’s not the player he was two seasons ago because he’s not been available. And every time he keeps coming back, he keeps breaking down.
“To rely on him, it’s a big ask.
“Rodrigo, on the other hand, is playing as a number nine and he deserves every opportunity to play there.
“But again, this is another setback that shows they should’ve strengthened in that area in the last transfer window.
“January is coming around quickly and if Patrick’s going to have more surgery now, you can’t rely on him being fully fit between now and the end of the season.
“Personally, I don’t think you can roll to the end of the season with Rodrigo as the only striker.
“It’s an area they have to address and it’s been glaringly obvious for the last three windows.”
Bamford has managed 10 Premier League appearances for Leeds this season, starting four games.
However, he’s failed to score in any of them and the longest he’s last on the field was 84 minutes in the opening-day win over Wolves in August.
In other Leeds United news, Victor Orta will be thrilled as a £40million-plus he wants to sign has made history at the World Cup.