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Liverpool are interested in a potential summer swoop for Patrick Bamford, despite claims that the striker has already signed an extension with Leeds United.
Bamford has enjoyed an exceptional season with Leeds. This season, he has scored 15 goals from 35 appearances in the top flight and has chipped in with seven assists. His form has given him an outside chance of making the England squad for Euro 2020.
Indeed, it was reported earlier this year that Leeds plan to reward Bamford with a new deal to ward off potental suitors. That was after it emerged that Thomas Tuchel saw the former Chelsea man as a potential replacement for the misfiring Timo Werner.
It was claimed at the time that Bamford was contracted to Elland Road until summer 2022. However, The Athletic claims on Monday that the striker penned an extension last summer, with his contract now due to expire in 2023.
That will serve as a big blow to his would-be admirers. It also means that Leeds – while keen to offer him another new deal – have less of an urgency to tie the 27-year-old down.
Furthermore, that revelation about his deal could frustrate Liverpool’s apparent interest in Bamford. As per The Athletic they claim Liverpool have a growing interest in the Leeds star and were considering a summer approach.
Indeed, Jurgen Klopp offered a glowing appraisal of the Leeds star prior to Liverpool’s recent clash at Anfield.
“What a player, Bamford!” he said. “I can remember, I’m pretty sure before the season I heard on talkSPORT, people saying that Leeds need a proper goalscorer, Bamford is not good enough, stuff like this. I’m so happy that he could prove them all wrong!
“He’s an exceptional player. The work-rate is outstanding. And he still plays the football he plays on top of that, and scores goals. That’s rare.
“They have a lot of interesting players, but Bamford, I’m really happy for him. I dont know him, obviously, but it’s a nice career, a little bit later than others but still very impressive.”
Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa also had warm words for Bamford prior to Saturday’s 3-1 win over Tottenham.
The striker scored 10 in his first 15 Premier League games; before Saturday he had just four in 19. While his notch against Spurs means he now has 15 for the season, Bielsa admitted he blamed himself for his output slowing slightly.
“Bamford has qualities like the best strikers in the Premier League,” he said. “But the qualities in football are just the starting point.
“After what is put in place, the capacity to put your qualities in play and a collective play that allows the quality of this player to shine. All of this is linked to the decision and their efficiency.
“It’s to have a disposition at the right moment in the right percentage of the qualities to find it. Bamford is a very, very dedicated professional. He analyses the best scores in the world in detail, in the English league, in the Germany league, in the French league.
“The process to put on all the qualities a player has is what determines the dimensions of a player. There’s players who have very few resources, but put them on show to their maximum. Then some who have a lot of quality without putting them on show 50 per cent of the time. That proportion, there’s cases with less quality put them more on show than those with more quality and show less of them.”
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