What Marcelo Bielsa once said about Patrick Bamford after Leeds United exit confirmed
Patrick Bamford’s eight-year spell at Leeds United recently came to an end.
Leeds confirmed that Bamford’s contract had been terminated by mutual consent, as the striker begins to look for a new home away from Elland Road.
The 31-year-old was a part of two Championship-winning campaigns with the Whites, but Daniel Farke felt as though Bamford wasn’t up to the Premier League standard this time around, as he informed the striker in pre-season that he was not a part of his plans.
This is a massive contrast from how Bamford was seen under Marcelo Bielsa, with the striker being a crucial part of the Argentine’s system.
Marcelo Bielsa comments on Patrick Bamford resurface after Leeds exit
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s disastrous debut proved that the striker position at Leeds is way below the level required if the Whites want to avoid the drop from the Premier League.
Whilst in 2025 Bamford is definitely not the answer to Leeds’ striker woes, there was a time when the forward was an extremely useful asset for United.
After his appointment in the summer of 2018, Bielsa instructed Leeds to secure Bamford’s signature as the striker arrived in West Yorkshire.
After being bounced around from club to club over various loan spells away from Chelsea earlier in his career, Bamford eventually settled at Leeds after spending one season at Middlesbrough permanently the year prior.
Under Bielsa, Bamford’s pressing and work rate were vital in his complex 4-1-4-1 system as the Englishman brought more to the side than simply goals.
Aside from these obvious attributes, it was another quality that Bamford possessed that once caught the eye of Bielsa.
“With Patrick, that’s something very special because when players are already established, they don’t usually have this attitude where they still want to improve,” he said.
“For young players who are coming up, this process is very important.”
“Imitation, copying, is a key element in the improvement of a player. Before, young players coming through used to look at the senior players, copy the things they did and try to do the things the best players did.
“Now we can look at the whole world and see the players we want to be like.”
Patrick Bamford’s goal-scoring record under Marcelo Bielsa
Bamford holds the unique distinction of being the top goalscorer of any player Bielsa has managed throughout his legendary managerial career.
Despite Bamford’s finishing leaving a lot to be desired at times, the striker had an impressive goal record under United’s former manager.
- 2018/19 Championship season – 10 goals (nine league goals, one Carabao Cup goal)
- 2019/20 Championship season – 16 goals
- 2020/21 Premier League season – 17 goals
- 2021/22 Premier League season – 2 goals
Whilst his involvement may have waned under Farke, Bamford’s form under Bielsa, which saw him become an England international, will live long in the memory for the Elland Road faithful.
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