Leeds United have already found next Patrick Bamford in award-winning under-21s star Sonny Perkins
Leeds United may have found the next Patrick Bamford rising through their ranks in award-winning young forward Sonny Perkins.
Bamford’s struggles this season have been well-documented, with the striker seemingly failing to find full fitness amid constant injury struggles.
He has scored just two Premier League goals from his 21 appearances this season, with Rodrigo undoubtedly the club’s most talented and first-choice striker.
Perkins meanwhile has been shining for the club’s under-21s in this season’s Premier League 2, where he boasts nine goals from his 15 matches.
The 19-year-old, who joined from West Ham last summer, started the campaign in superb fashion with a stunning seven goals in his first seven matches.
Such form saw him clinch the Premier League 2 Player of the Month award for August. And after a brief drought in front of goal, he has now been nominated for March’s award with two goals and two assists from his two matches last month.
Perkins has been a revelation for Leeds’s under-21s since joining from Premier League rivals West Ham, with whom he rejected a professional contract to move to the Yorkshire outfit.
The teenager has already proven his ability in the first team this season, scoring his first senior goal in the FA Cup third round clash with Cardiff City in January, where he needed just four minutes to find the back of the net after coming off the bench.
Further appearances came later in the following round against Accrington Stanley and in the League Cup against Wolves, with Perkins making the bench twice in the current Premier League campaign.
A league debut may arrive this season, but perhaps only if Javi Gracia has guided the club to safety before the final match of the campaign.
Bamford’s future at the club is extremely uncertain amid his struggles with both fitness and goals, while club record signing Georginio Rutter has been linked with an exit from Elland Road amid his struggles to reach the heights expected of him.
Young forward Joe Gelhardt, currently on loan at Sunderland in the Championship, also seemingly has a future away from West Yorkshire, with Perkins now in a prime position to be the next star forward of the first team.
His second nomination for the PL2 Player of the Month award this season will not go unnoticed, with Perkins boasting an impressive 10 goals from his 18 matches for Leeds’s under-21s.
In other Leeds United news, the Whites will reportedly be without four first-team players for their Premier League clash against Crystal Palace this weekend.