Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford will be a 'leading man next season' in attack as the Whites look to bounce back to the Premier League at the first attempt, according to journalist Dean Jones.
What's the latest news involving Patrick Bamford?
In 2022/23, Bamford endured a difficult campaign for Leeds United as they suffered relegation to the Sky Bet Championship. Across 31 appearances in all competitions, the 29-year-old netted six goals and laid on four assists in total, as per Transfermarkt.
talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan slated the £70k-a-week ace for his performances during the campaign in an interview quoted by TEAMtalk, stating: “Patrick Bamford at times this season, I thought was diabolical. Poor, not just penalty misses but in games where he didn’t hold the line up, he didn’t do his job. I don’t know whether new contracts have affected his outcome because he got a new contract.”
Of course, the penalty miss that Jordan alluded to occurred last month in Leeds United's 2-2 draw with Newcastle United on matchday 36 of the Premier League season, where he fluffed the chance to put the Whites 2-0 up in a must-win match in their eventually doomed fight for survival, as per BBC Sport.
One report in Spain claimed in April that Bamford has offers on the table this summer from unnamed clubs; however, it remains to be seen whether that situation will have changed due to Leeds United dropping into England's second tier.
Speaking to Football FanCast, journalist Jones thinks that Bamford will still be at Leeds United next season and will spearhead their attack in the Sky Bet Championship.
Jones told FFC: "I think Bamford will score goals in the Championship anyway. I think that's a level that he thrives at and whichever manager that comes into Leeds, I would expect Bamford to be the leading man next season and expect him to score goals. I think that's probably one of the good things that their next manager would look at is that in that division, particularly, they do have a good goal source."
Can Patrick Bamford be relied upon in the Sky Bet Championship for Leeds United?
Going by his previous history, there is no doubt that Bamford can be a potent marksman in the Sky Bet Championship as Leeds United look to get themselves back into the top flight.
His career record in the English second-tier stands up to scrutiny, as he has notched 61 goals and 15 assists in 167 appearances in total, as per Transfermarkt.
This season, despite not being a successful one on a personal or collective level for Bamford or Leeds United, still proved that the 29-year-old carries a cunning goal threat, as he averaged around 1.8 shots per match in the Premier League, according to WhoScored.
Nevertheless, FBRef detail that in the same competition, Bamford only managed to get around 33.3% of his shots on target, suggesting room for improvement.
Moving forward, Bamford may be returning to a level he knows he can deliver at, which can only be a good thing for Leeds United.
