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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
Heading into the 2019/20 season, Patrick Bamford would probably have felt a weight of pressure on his shoulders.
This was a player who had struggled last term, both with fitness and his discipline as he found himself playing second fiddle to Kemar Roofe.
Roofe scored 15 times for Leeds in the Championship but he is now donning the purple of Anderlecht, swapping England for Belgium.
An injury at the start of the season for the now-departed forward meant Bamford was going to have to become the leading light and indeed after his former strike partner left, he’s taken on the mantle rather well.
Before this weekend’s clash against Stoke, the 25-year-old is already a third of the way towards the goal tally he mustered last campaign.
Because of varying circumstances, he managed just nine but heading into the weekend’s action he had three.
Despite spurning three rather straightforward chances against Nottingham Forest, he bounced back against Wigan and found himself in the right place at the right time to notch two easy goals.
A striker will largely be judged on how regularly he finds the net but thanks to Eddie Nketiah’s flying start against Brentford last Wednesday, the pressure will likely be somewhat relieved.
However, as well as his goals proving vital, his fitness will also be crucial. In each of Leeds’ opening four matches of the term, he’s played 90 minutes, something that should serve as a huge encouragement to both Bamford and Marcelo Bielsa.
It’s clear his fitness levels have improved on that basis and his willingness to get forward alongside Nketiah for his goal versus the Bees proved that.
It was the 81st minute but the former Middlesbrough man kept running.
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Before that clash, Noel Whelan noted the following: “He is showing a turn of pace I never thought he had. He is doing impossible things like chasing down a defender when he is 10 yards behind and catching him up. That shows the fitness levels Bielsa drills into his players.”
This quote is a huge indication of the extra workload Bamford is taking on.
He’s managing to press from the front based on that evidence and for the way Leeds play, that is hugely important.
Last term, Bamford missed 22 games through injury because of two separate problems. This term, however, he is showing that those niggles may finally be beyond him.
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