Sam Matterface, Darren Ambrose and Alex Crook discussed all of the latest Premier League news during the most recent edition of TalkSPORT’s GameDay podcast and during the show, the panel spent some time talking about Leeds United forward Patrick Bamford.
Bamford has enjoyed a positive start to the 2020/21 campaign, scoring six goals – three of which came in Leeds’ 3-0 win over Aston Villa last Friday – and providing one assist in his six appearances in England’s top flight so far this term.
The 27-year-old Englishman is currently the joint-third-highest goalscorer in the Premier League, with only Dominic Calvert-Lewin (seven) and Son Heung-min (eight) netting more times than him in the league so far this season.
With that in mind, it may come as no surprise that Ambrose took the opportunity to praise the £9m-rated striker during the most recent edition of TalkSPORT’s GameDay podcast, saying: “I never thought he’d be able to score as many goals as he has. I do like him as a player, I think he’s got his talents, but he seems to be suited to the Premier League and he’s come in all guns blazing and the hat-trick was fantastic.
“It seems like he’s got the trust of the manager, Marcelo Bielsa, and he’s really repaying him with the faith he’s shown in him. He got some unnecessary and unfair stick last season. He was their top goalscorer and he was still getting [told] that he’s not going to be good enough and he’s proving a lot of doubters wrong and I’m very, very pleased for him.”
Has Bamford been Leeds' best player so far this season?
YES
NO
TIF Thoughts on what Ambrose had to say about Bamford…
It’s clear from what Ambrose had to say that he has been impressed by Bamford’s start to the season, with the ex-Premier League player stating that he thinks the 27-year-old Whites attacker has silenced his critics.
There were questions raised over whether or not Bamford would be good enough for the top flight prior to the 2020/21 campaign, with former Leeds manager David O’Leary suggesting that Bamford might not cut it in the Premier League.
Considering that he’d scored just one goal in his 27 Premier League appearances before this season, it may be understandable why some had their concerns about Bamford’s quality but it’s evident from his start to the campaign that it was surely too quick to write him off. So, perhaps Ambrose is right in suggesting that Bamford’s early-season performances are already making his pre-season critics eat their words.