Patrick Bamford days at Leeds United surely numbered after what Adam Pope said
Leeds United should cut ties with Patrick Bamford as soon as possible after Adam Pope admitted that the striker’s fitness “has gone”.
Speaking on BBC Radio Humberside (7 January), Pope argued that since Bamford’s apex of scoring 17 Premier League goals in the 2020/21 season, a “catalogue of injuries” have curtailed his career.
Those setbacks have also Bamford fall well behind Joel Piroe and Mateo Joseph in the pecking order at Elland Road, and with Joe Gelhardt already heading for the exit door, Bamford’s time could well be up.
Pope said: “The only reason why Joe Gelhardt was on the bench at [Hull City] was because Patrick Bamford has a hamstring injury – which is a catalogue of injuries now.
“This was a guy who helped Leeds to promotion, he got almost 20 goals in that first Premier League season, and then has just been shot through ever since. You can definitely say his fitness has gone.
“It could be four to six weeks, and that in itself would limit Leeds’ striker choice to Piroe and Joseph, and Gelhardt unless they get somebody in – [but] we’re told Leeds are having a quiet window.”
Leeds United will find it hard to shift Patrick Bamford this month
While Gelhardt’s exit this month looks inevitable, Bamford’s future in the white shirt is much more complicated, with the 31-year-old potentially out injured for the entirety of the January window.
Signing players who aren’t match-fit is hardly uncommon – as United found out with the sale of Tyler Adams last summer – but Bamford’ wages could also be a stumbling block to get him out of the door.
Having penned a bumper contract off the back of that 17-goal season in 2021, Bamford has never come close to hitting the same heights, and is in line to remain on the books at Elland Road until summer 2026.
Owners 49ers Enterprises planning a quiet month will alarm swathes of the Whites’ fanbase given their issues at both ends of the pitch, with several goalkeepers linked to replace the out-of-form Illan Meslier.
Up front, adding a third striker to complement Piroe and Joseph could all-but guarantee promotion, but any deal for a January move up front may have to be facilitated by Bamford heading the other way.
In other Leeds news, Thorp Arch sources have said selling one of United’s players last summer was a “blessing in disguise”.
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