One of the most frustrating figures at Leeds United is Patrick Bamford.
Fans seem to slate him on almost a weekly basis, and you can understand why.
The attacker is underperforming his xG by over seven goals, and you can’t help but get annoyed by watching him miss chances on a weekly basis – he has fired 53 off target this season alone.
However, despite his flaws, Marcelo Bielsa has remained very loyal to him, starting him in 28 out of 30 league matches this season.
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The fact of the matter is that he’s incredibly well-suited to the Argentine’s style, and Phil Hay pointed out that a number of other top Championship strikers wouldn’t get into this Leeds team ahead of him. However, the journalist does believe there is one rival attacker in this league who would be perfect for Bielsa’s system.
What’s been said then?
The Athletic’s Leeds United correspondent was speaking on the latest edition of The Phil Hay Show, and one fan asked whether or not Bamford would get into any of the promotion-chasing teams from the past few seasons.
Hay stated that Bamford perhaps wouldn’t get into many of those sides, but he also claimed that many of the other forwards wouldn’t displace the former Middlesbrough man.
“Part of me wonders, and I know people will laugh at this, how many of those strikers would have got into Bielsa’s team? Because of the way they play, would Dwight Gayle’s body have held up to this style, and it’s pointless saying that Gayle gets into the six-yard box and scores goals because that’s just not how this team sets up,” Hay said (The Phil Hay Show 7/2/20 47:00).
He went on to say that Aleksandar Mitrovic is one striker that would be brilliant under the Argentine:
“I mean, somebody like Mitrovic would be 100% tailor-made for this Bielsa team, especially in Bielsa shape and in Bielsa condition, he’d be perfect, hence why he cost so much and Fulham threw so much at it.”
Spot on
Mitrovic’s immense physical strength and his incredible finishing ability would make him an immediate upgrade on Bamford, as shown by the fact that he’s outscoring him this term, despite playing fewer games. In total, Mitrovic has 19 league goals, putting him joint top of the scoring charts with Ollie Watkins.
Unfortunately, the Serbian signed a long-term contract with Fulham last summer, and the London club are also vying for a place back in the Premier League. Therefore, it’s hard to envisage the £22.5m-rated forward ever turning out for Bielsa’s Leeds, but it certainly is a mouth-watering prospect.
As things stand, Leeds are stuck with Bamford, and while he’s not consistently been brilliant this season, he can be among the best players in the division on his day, highlighted by the fact that he won the Championship Player of the Year award back in 2015.
In other news, Leeds may miss Phillips and Forshaw more than ever on Saturday.