Patrick Bamford has now been spotted training with Coventry after his departure from Leeds in August.
The England international left Elland Road 12 months ahead of his contract expiring – after Daniel Farke decided the striker would not feature in his plans for this season – but is now working with Coventry in his first venture back into football.
As Patrick Bamford could potentially win a contract with the Championship leaders, comments made by Frank Lampard back in December 2020 are now worth reflecting on.
Frank Lampard is an admirer of Patrick Bamford as reunion arises at Coventry
The Coventry boss knows the 32-year-old well from his time at Chelsea, and his previous comments about the forward suggest he would be open to offering him a contract, should he impress in training.
Sky Sports quote Lampard as saying: “I remember him well. He trained with us quite a lot as a young player when he arrived. Clearly he had great finishing abilities and an eye for goal from the early stages at Chelsea.
“Obviously it didn’t quite work out for him at Chelsea but that is probably more due to the competition he faced up front. He should be proud of the way his career has gone – to make different moves and come back and be one of the leading scorers in the Premier League in a very good Leeds team.”
Patrick Bamford during a Chelsea Training session
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC
Coventry Live are claiming that Lampard is simply doing Bamford a favour by allowing him to train with his promotion hopefuls – although anything is possible if the man born in Grantham impresses.
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The feeling appears mutual between Patrick Bamford and Frank Lampard
Bamford – who said Lampard was livid after a phone call related to Spygate – also appears to have a lot of respect for the Chelsea legend, so it feels like a contract is possible should he impress on the training pitch.
When asked if he clicked with anybody during his sessions at Chelsea, the former Leeds striker said: “Lamps I got on well with … all the English lads were good.”
There remains a question mark over how effective Bamford can be at Championship level after failing to score in 17 appearances last season, but there certainly appears to be a mutual respect between him and Lampard.