Leeds boss Jesse Marsch has been told that he has his own Dennis Bergkamp in Patrick Bamford ahead of his side’s visit to Leicester on Thursday. Bamford missed a penalty in the 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday as he continues to come back from injury issues that have plagued him in the past year.
Bamford was in the England squad and a goalscoring threat under Marcelo Bielsa before his injury and several setbacks, and has now made seven Premier League appearances this season including three starts. He is yet to hit the back of the net this campaign so far, but that has not stopped former Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman from praising the 29-year-old.
“As soon as Bamford came on they looked a lot different,” Seaman told his podcast Seaman Says after the Gunners’ win at Elland Road. “They missed him a lot, look at the influence he had when he came on.
"He’s one of those guys who looks like a nice, quiet guy, but he’s a bit like Dennis Bergkamp, everyone thought he was a Mr Nice Guy and whatever, but on the pitch they can look after themselves and stick their elbow in and make the defenders cry.”
Dennis Bergkamp in action for Arsenal. (Image: GETTY)
Despite the strong claim from Seaman, Bamford is not assured of his place in Marsch’s starting lineup as he has competition from Rodrigo, who started the season in a rich vein of form. The Spaniard could start up front with Jack Harrison, Brenden Aaronson and Luis Sinisterra supporting, or one of the four could be left out for Bamford to lead the line.
Marsch is confident that despite his lack of goals, Bamford will begin to find his goalscoring touch soon. "Firstly, it’s great that I think he's getting closer and closer to fully being 100%, which he knows he hasn't been in quite some time," the American coach said ahead of the visit of Arsenal. "So that part's really good. He's looked good in training this week.
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"I said after the match [against Crystal Palace] that he's part of the solution for us for sure, in terms of finding ways to score more goals, and that's what it is. It's getting him physically better, it's getting him fitter, it's getting him more up to speed with our tactics with everything we're trying to do and getting him sharper around the goal because we know he's always dangerous.
"So I think he's [a] very important guy and we need to keep them sharp, sharp and fit until we get to November 12. He hasn't scored yet this season but again, getting fit, getting him healthy, getting him training every day.
"In training, he's scoring goals in [under-]21s matches and these kinds of things. He's scoring goals, so it's going to come, it's going to come."
