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Bamford shares what Tony Pulis told him ahead of £10m transfer to Leeds
Patrick Bamford has revealed a conversation he had with former Middlesbrough manager Tony Pulis ahead of his move to Leeds United in 2018.
Leeds sign Bamford, 26, in a deal worth up to £10million [BBC Sport] in what remains the club’s most expensive signing since Marcelo Bielsa’s appointment as manager.
Since that move, the former Chelsea striker has scored 23 goals in 63 appearances across all competitions for the Whites and has emerged as a player who divides opinion among fans.
However it seemed that he was intent on signing for Leeds as soon as Pulis told him that the Whites had tabled a bid for him before Middlesbrough played a pre-season friendly against Sunderland.
As quoted by Leeds’ official site, Bamford said: “We were playing a friendly against Sunderland, and it got cancelled halfway through. I was supposed to start but Tony Pulis came over and said ‘Let’s go for a chat’. He was like ‘I’m taking you out of the starting team and you know why, don’t you?’, I said no, he replied ‘Leeds have put a bid in, we’ve accepted it’. I was like ‘Really?’
“A lot of people have stories about Tony but I couldn’t speak highly enough of him, because he was honest and said ‘Look, they’ve accepted a bid, I just want to thank you for your time and everything you’ve given.’ So that was pretty much it, once he said it was the club’s decision, my head was only on Leeds.”
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Bamford isn’t exactly Pulis’ type of striker.
Although he isn’t short and can be handy at holding the ball up, he just isn’t the physical powerhouse that Pulis usually has leading the line.
But Bamford has no doubt been a perfect striker for Bielsa, who starts him at every possible opportunity even though his goalscoring record isn’t the best for a top Championship club.
Bamford’s involvement in build-up play and his ability to bring his team-mates into play is why Bielsa places so much importance on him.
In other Leeds United news, fans were blown away by this player’s display on Saturday after being linked with the Whites.