Journalist Dean Jones has claimed that Leeds United are worried over Patrick Bamford’s fitness given the lack of backup in that area of the pitch.
Bamford missed the majority of last season due to injury, meaning he was only able to feature nine times in the Premier League for Leeds, leading to a severe lack of goals for the Whites, as they scored the second-lowest amount of goals out of the sides that remained in the top flight.
Jesse Marsch has opted to make seven signings in this summer transfer window, and four of those were awarded with starts in the opening fixture of the 2022/23 season, but the American coach is yet to add a striker to his squad, with the only other senior forwards currently at Elland Road being the relatively inexperienced pair of Joe Gelhardt and Sam Greenwood.
With Leeds having few established striking options within their ranks in the first team, Jones spoke to GiveMeSport and claimed that he believes that the club are slightly concerned about their attacking depth.
He said: “They are worried about what happens if Bamford gets injured, what happens in that position, because they still haven’t got it filled and there are young players you could try, but I personally think that’s where they’re slightly concerned right now.”
Are you happy with the options on Leeds' bench?Yes
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TIF Thoughts on Jones’ comments…
Bamford has shown that he can score goals in the Premier League, having found the back of the net 17 times in the top flight and chipped in with a further eight assists in the 2020/21 season, but the issue for the Leeds faithful might be his injury woes and keeping him fit.
However, Marsch does have Gelhardt as an option in attack, and he was utilised mainly from the bench last term, featuring 20 times in the top flight with 15 of those appearances coming as a substitute, but the American coach might be looking to offer him more regular game times from the start this season in order to accommodate for Bamford.
Albeit, Gelhardt is still just 20 years old, so if Bamford does pick up an injury, there would be a lot of pressure on the youngster to provide the goals in his absence, so it would be a smart decision from Marsch to bring in another option up top, and with Arnaud Kalimuendo being linked, it will be interesting to see how the window progresses.