It has taken Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford quite some time to put an end to the doubts surrounding him.
A promising young striker at Nottingham Forest, he was picked up by Chelsea in 2011. Patrick Bamford then spent years in the purgatory of the Chelsea loanee merry-go-round, with spells at MK Dons, Derby and Middlesbourough. He won Championship Player of the Year at Boro’.
This was followed by lacklustre loan spells at Crystal Palace, Norwich and Burnley before he returned to Middlesbrough permanently.
He joined Leeds and coach Marcelo Bielsa in 2018, and helped the team to gain promotion to the Premier League.
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Patrick Bamford credits the demanding coach for helping him to realise his potential in England’s top flight.
When asked what it was like to work under Bielsa, Bamdord replied; ‘hard work’.
“I’d say that if someone asked me who is the best manager you’ve worked for, I’d say Marcelo, but if someone asked me who is the hardest manager you’ve worked for I’d say Marcelo. Those two things go hand in hand.”
Bamford has scored 6 goals so far this season, and could have had more. He’s been unlucky with some VAR decisions and has had chances to add to that tally.
Pundit Freddie Ljungberg admitted before Leeds’ draw with Arsenal on Sunday that he doubted Bamford’s pedigree.
“He’s shown how good he is, there were a lot of questions about him. I had a question about coming up to the Premier League – could he do it? Would he be good enough?” asked Ljungberg.
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“He’s scoring for fun, so I think he’s shown all of his doubters that he’s a very good player.”
