Patrick Bamford could find himself being a “bit part player” at Leeds United under Daniel Farke, according to David Prutton.
The striker made his first appearance of the season as a substitute against Southampton on Saturday afternoon, having suffered a hamstring injury during pre-season.
Now fit again and coming into an in-form Leeds side, Sky Sports pundit Prutton told the Yorkshire Evening Post (30 September) that he may need to get used to being a bit-part player this season because of it.
Patrick Bamford is also now back in the mix and he has been there before and he has been written off before,” he said.
“He knows what it is expected, what the levels are and what the demands are of being a centre forward for Leeds United.
“His challenge now is to go again, to go again as an older player and to make sure that he’s part of this next episode of what the story is. If it gets Leeds back into the Premier League at the first knockings then great and whether he is a bit part player or a main player we will soon see.
But a fully fit, raring to go and motivated Patrick Bamford is only a bonus for Leeds.”
Moving on
Once upon a time Leeds really relied on Bamford to be fit and firing, and their results often depended on how good he was going to be on the day.
But those days are a thing of the past under Daniel Farke, because he has so many excellent attacking options who are fit and available more often than not.
The likes of Joel Piroe and Georginio Rutter have started the season excellently and formed an excellent partnership through the middle, while there are also Mateo Joseph and Joe Gelhardt lurking as backup options.
It means there is less pressure on Bamford to rush himself back to fitness, but also means there is less pressure on Leeds to keep him and his £30,000 per-week wages around.
It’s a make-or-break season for Bamford at Leeds, and it could be that if he can’t force his way back into Farke’s plans that it could be his final season at the club.
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