Two 90-minute outings since September 2021, five league goals in the same 21 months and relegation have brought Patrick Bamford to a Leeds United crossroads.
The peak of Bamford’s career, to date, came just 12 days before that ankle injury at St James’ Park which set in motion the decline we have since seen. His one England cap, that Wembley start against Andorra he will never forget, was the product of three years under Marcelo Bielsa’s wing.
The striker had proven all of his doubters wrong with a 17-goal Premier League season which was only bettered by three players (Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah and Bruno Fernandes). That cruel ankle injury, which he played through until the end of the Tyneside clash, cut him down before he could even get going with the Three Lions.
There have been starts, false starts and comebacks since then, but Bamford, always a very open and honest interviewee, would even admit he has been nowhere near his best form across the last 21 months. Bielsa would only get one more game out of Bamford as his head coach, that ill-fated equaliser at home to Brentford, before he was sacked.
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Jesse Marsch tried to manage the forward through his various returns, but they struggled to make anything stick until his comeback at Accrington Stanley. After that cup game, Bamford started 15 of the remaining 21 games last season.
There were more niggles down that stretch, but if the striker wants to cling onto anything he can at least show his body is holding up under the strain of weekly matches again. Sadly, as availability has become less of an issue on the terraces, the sticking point remains Bamford’s form.
There was the long-range, deflected strike against Brighton & Hove Albion before deft headers against Crystal Palace and Bournemouth, but while Rodrigo struggled with his own injury comeback, fans needed Bamford to prop up the survival fight. For all of the competent hold-up play Bamford delivered in knitting together Leeds attacks, in this world of three-minute highlight packages, his misses against Leicester City and Newcastle United are what history will remember.
The number nine, an emblem of United’s over-reliance on Bielsa’s promotion heroes, became a lightning rod for criticism. Abhorrent death threats would force Bamford to deactivate his Twitter account and draw his partner out to track down the culprits.
The close season will give all parties time to simmer down and review their future paths. Bamford is 29 and looking at another three years on the Leeds contract he signed a fortnight before that England cap.
As a striker, he remains one of the highest earners at Elland Road, even after a relegation-enforced wage reduction. After five years in West Yorkshire, does Bamford want a fresh start?
Or, like Luke Ayling and Liam Cooper, does he want to stay and fight for the club’s return to the top flight? Much will depend on the next head coach and their opinion on what Bamford can bring to their system.
With Rodrigo a virtual certainty to move on, a Bamford exit would swiftly blow a hole in the club’s frontline reserves. One first-rate striker would be an arduous enough summer hunt, but two?
Like many members of the Leeds squad who found themselves ultimately overstretched by the top flight, relegation could be the reset Bamford needs. The forward’s long-standing experience of the second tier is bound to make him an at least competent squad option for the next head coach.
What would five league goals and two 90-minute completions fetch in the transfer market anyway?
