Sky Sports pundit Danny Higginbotham has heaped praise on Patrick Bamford who he says has really “come into his own” after returning from injury.
Bamford missed 14 games with a cruciate ligament injury, before returning for a game and then injuring his knee in a freak training accident.
He came back into the side in February and has since scored seven goals, with top-scorer Kemar Roofe out through injury.
Roofe is back now but Bamford has kept him on the bench, and Bamford is set to start again against Wigan on Friday, with manager Marcelo Bielsa set to name an unchanged side.
Talking on Match Centre (Sky Sports, Thursday, 11.50am) Higginbotham said, “Patrick Bamford has come into his own, he’s an outstanding player, and his return is a real positive, a real bonus for Leeds.
“There’s talk is Cooper going to be fit or not because he’s a huge player for them, a real leader. But they’re in a great position, it’s in their hands and that’s all you can ask for at this point in the season.”
OPINION
Bamford has kept the Bielsa juggernaut on the tracks while Kemar Roofe was out injured and just for that he’ll have played a hugely important part in Leeds return to the top-flight if they do go on to win promotion. However, his form has actually been pretty patchy. The seven goals have been crucial, but he almost cost his side the points against Millwall when he missed a penalty. And he wasn’t very good in Leeds’ last game against Sheffield Wednesday. Leeds have struggled to convert their dominance to goals this season and Bamford has been guilty of spurning some glorious chances. Saying that though, Bielsa has obviously got faith in him and is set to name him up top for the home game against Wigan on Friday. Roofe has been on the bench for the last three games and has had to make do with short cameo appearances, including just one minute in the game against Preston.