Leeds Could Ditch Bamford With Swoop For Prolific £11m Ace

Leeds United ended their 2022/23 campaign in disappointment as they were relegated to the Championship on the final day of the season with a 4-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

The Whites must now prepare for at least one season in the second tier of English football, and Angus Kinnear and the rest of the board need to use the summer transfer window wisely to piece together a team capable of achieving promotion at the first time of asking.

One position that needs to be improved on is centre-forward after Patrick Bamford’s struggles this season. The English striker ended 22/23 with four goals and two assists in 28 appearances in the Premier League, after managing two in nine outings in 21/22.

Who could replace Patrick Bamford at Leeds?

Kinnear could allow the next head coach to finally ditch the ex-Chelsea man after his poor form in front of goal in recent years by sealing a swoop for Coventry City star Viktor Gyokeres, who is a reported €13m (£11m) target for the club.

21-year-old striker Joe Gelhardt may have been viewed as Bamford’s successor but the youngster failed to make a significant impact in the final third during his loan spell at Sunderland in the second half of this season. The forward scored three goals and provided three assists in 18 outings and averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.82 in the second tier – ranking as low as 12th in the Black Cats squad.

Gyokeres, meanwhile, averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.97 across 46 appearances in the division – joint-6th in a high-flying Coventry side – and plundered an eye-catching 21 goals and ten assists, which shows that the dynamo is able to finish and create chances on a regular basis in the Championship at a greater rate than Gelhardt in the same league.

The 25-year-old, who was hailed as “powerful” by Black Cats boss Tony Mowbray, has proven himself to be an exceptional player at that level and someone who can change and win matches with his ability at the top end of the pitch. He can punish the opposition with his deadly finishing and quality on the ball to split open the defence for others to score.

Whereas, Bamford and Gelhardt have not shown similar qualities over the last year or so across the top two tiers, which suggests that the Sweden international would come in as a huge upgrade on what Leeds currently have in attack.

Therefore, Kinnear could strike gold by securing a deal to sign Gyokeres, who is a proven, in-form, performer in the division that the Whites will be playing in next term, while his arrival would allow the next manager to brutally ditch the underperforming Bamford from the team.