Phil Hay mentions Patrick Bamford in Leeds United January transfer update
Patrick Bamford’s absence against Blackburn Rovers is not a cause for concern over his career at Leeds United despite the January transfer window looming, according to Phil Hay.
Writing for The Athletic on Sunday (10 December), Hay stated that any type of transfer is highly unlikely in January and that the Bamford-sized gap on Leeds’ bench against Blackburn was nothing more than an illness.
The 30-year-old has yet to start a league game or score for the Whites this season, amounting to a measly 147 minutes on the pitch.
“Deviation is what Farke wants to avoid next month, when January comes, the transfer window reopens and Leeds weigh up the dilemma of what to do in the less strategic of each European football season’s two markets,” he wrote.
“He expects that he and the club are in for a quiet time; that, to use his words from a few weeks ago, clubs with a brain and anything about them make their key decisions during the summer window and hang the ensuing season on calls made then.
“Football being football, nobody can quite bring themselves to think that a “chilled month” — Farke’s phrase — is what the doctor ever orders in January, but there is no real malady in the camp, aside from the bug which kept Patrick Bamford out of yesterday’s match.”
All is good in camp
It has been a tough few months for Bamford at Elland Road. He only scored four goals as his beloved Leeds were relegated from the Premier League last season and has continued to stay in that rut.
Injury has largely plagued his career recently, which has caused Daniel Farke to replace him with Georginio Rutter and Joel Piroe each week while the Englishman gathers dust on the bench.
However, it sounds unlikely that Bamford will depart the club during the transfer window next month, on loan or on a permanent deal. He could still play an important role this season as Leeds chase promotion.
Alongside Luke Ayling, Bamford is one of the most experienced players in Farke’s squad and will be a wise mind in the dressing room. There will be a lot for the younger players to learn from him, which will be key in continuing their fine form.
In other Leeds United news, a pundit raged at a “petulant” incident he saw in the Whites’ win at Blackburn.