Patrick Bamford fitness key to Leeds United success this season – Ally McCoist
Ally McCoist believes that Leeds United must keep striker Patrick Bamford fit to have a good season.
The Whites had a difficult campaign last time around where they narrowly managed to escape relegation, largely because of injuries throughout the entire squad.
McCoist, while speaking on talkSPORT, suggested that the England international’s fitness will be a key for Leeds and Jesse Marsch this season.
“Leeds have to get Bamford fit for the season,” he said. “All the clubs get through their injuries throughout the course of their season.
“However, Leeds were more than just hampered last year by injuries. Cooper was the big one. Kalvin Phillips is another who didn’t play much last year.
“But Bamford was key. I saw him a couple of times last season. I like him, he is a brilliant centre-forward”
Despite spending more than £100 million on signing new players this season, Leeds will still heavily rely on Bamford.
His injury was one of the primary reasons Leeds were involved in an intense relegation battle. In the 2021-22 season, the England international only made nine Premier League appearances, scoring two goals and providing a couple of assists.
It was a completely different campaign from his first Premier League season with the Whites in 2020-21 where he scored 17 goals and provided seven assists as Marcelo Bielsa’s men finished in the top half of the table [Whoscored].
Those details suggest why Bamford is so key to how Leeds performed over the last few years where when he was on song, the side went on to win the majority of the matches whereas when he was unavailable for any reason, the club suffered massively on the pitch.
Therefore, it is important that before the end of the transfer window, manager Jesse Marsch finds a way to sign a backup striker who cannot only provide cover for Bamford but can also step up when the former Chelsea forward is struggling to find the back of the net.
In other Leeds United news, the Whites now want to sign this striker with a rival set to kickstart a major £30million+ transfer battle