Leeds United and Patrick Bamford parted ways by mutual consent this week, with the striker ending his seven-year association with the Whites.
Speaking earlier in the week Danny Mills thought Patrick Bamford would terminate his deal with Leeds United, which ended up coming to fruition after it was made clear he was not a part of Daniel Farke’s plans.
Farke told Bamford he’s not in the plans of the club beyond this summer. Simon Jordan agrees with Farke on Bamford, and many may see it as the correct decision for a player who failed to score last season.
Bamford isn’t the same player he was under Marcelo Bielsa and he is unlikely to ever be so again. Once a famous English striker, he has struggled recently and Bamford has since dealt with widespread criticism at Leeds.
Leeds United v Villarreal CF - Pre-Season Friendly
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Bamford worked so hard to get fit in Leeds’ pre-season. However, it was all for nothing in terms of being in the picture with Leeds.
There were some suggestions Bamford could stay at Leeds and earn his wage. The striker was one of Leeds’ highest earners. Instead, he has decided to look elsewhere by mutually agreeing to the termination.
Leeds fans have reacted to Bamford cancelling his contract, but there have been a number of tributes pouring in. That includes Harry Gray last night during a game for the Leeds U-21 team against Burnley’s.
MORE LEEDS UNITED STORIES
They won 2-1 at Turf Moor, with Gray bagging an assist and playing a huge part in the second Leeds goal. He celebrated that in style, paying tribute to Bamford’s iconic celebration against Aston Villa when he scored a hat-trick for Leeds in 2020.
On Instagram, Gray tagged Bamford and said: “👑👑”
The 31-year-old responded: “:saluting_face: love it :raised_hands::skin-tone-4:“
Bamford has hinted at his next move after Leeds already but it’s clear that he helped to mentor players like Gray and more. Graham Smyth has suggested Stoke City for Bamford previously, but it remains to be seen what he does next.
Patrick Bamford vs Aston Villa
Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images
Patrick Bamford’s previous praise of Harry Gray
Speaking to Ben Foster on the ‘Fozcast – The Ben Foster Podcast’, Bamford has explained Harry Gray’s relationship with him.
He said: ““Harry and Archie look very, very similar; personalities couldn’t be any different. When Archie came up, quiet but just got about it. Harry is chirpy. He is proper chirpy — but in a good way.
“He’s got no problem with having one of the first-team players off. At 16! I swear. He, I think, in his head, knows he’s good. I remember when Archie was still at Leeds, I went to watch for the 18s or 21s and Harry was playing.
“I literally — and he knows now because I’ve told him — but I literally went to watch just to see him. He’s good and he’s going to be decent.
“I thought, when he comes up, I’ll try to help him a little bit. It’s weird to say but he like looks up to me a little bit, so I can kind of get away with it with him a bit.
“He could be top. He’s tall, quite slim, quick, very aggressive. For how tall he is, his dribbling is a joke. He can put defenders on their arse.
“In training, he does it a lot. He did it to Joe Rodon. He was through and he chopped the life out of him. Joe hates looking like that. So, all the lads jumped on it winding him up.
“Honestly, times have changed with young players. But I quite like it, because I find him funny.”