Leeds United boss Daniel Farke has revealed that he was impressed with Patrick Bamford’s performances during pre-season.
The 30-year-old is yet to play for the Whites this term due to an injury. He is slowly making his way back to full fitness, and he could be available for the first time when Leeds United take on Southampton this weekend.
Daniel Farke says he was impressed with Leeds United’s Patrick Bamford in pre-season
Leeds United had a torrid campaign in the Premier League last season.
The Whites suffered relegation after winning just seven games in the entire campaign, and Daniel Farke was brought in to get the side back to the top flight.
Leeds haven’t had the greatest of starts in the Championship this season, but they’re unbeaten in their last five games and that is a huge positive.
What is an even bigger boost is the fact that Patrick Bamford is set to be in contention for the game against Southampton this weekend, and Farke has now revealed that he was really impressed with the Englishman in pre-season.
He said in his press conference today: “First of all, we are not just here to help Patrick, it’s more the other way around. We are all unbelievably happy that he is back because he is a quality player and he’s an experienced player.
“He’s a big name in English football – he didn’t win the cap for England in the lottery, but he’s a quality player, he’s proved it for this club with more than 20 goals he got this club promoted.
“I was pretty impressed with him in pre-season. I think he was excellent in pre-season, scored goals, he was sharp in his movement, but obviously then, sadly, this injury happened. But, we are, right now, all happy that he’s back.”
Big boost for Leeds ahead of Southampton clash
Bamford’s return is certainly a huge boost for Leeds.
Farke stressed in his press conference that the 30-year-old is not back to his best in terms of fitness, but having him around is far better than him not being available.
Bamford was absolutely integral when Leeds got promoted from the Championship last time. He was directly involved in 20 goals, and if he can do that again, the Whites have a great chance of going back up.
It will be interesting to see how many minutes Bamford will play against Southampton this weekend.