Football General Manager
- Farke confirmed news after United pre-season friendly
- Bamford linked with Red Dragons
- 31-year-old scored 60 goals for Leeds
Farke was speaking after Leeds’ 0-0 pre-season draw with Manchester United. The German manager revealed he had a frank conversation with the veteran striker just two days into the club’s pre-season. Farke added that Bamford needs to be “the main man” to flourish. Bamford was not involved against United.
Bamford will command attention from clubs in the second tier, including Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s Wrexham. The Red Dragons were linked with the player in January, as they look to elevate their squad with proven entities at the Championship level.
Farke said: “With Patrick, I had a really open and honest conversation,” he said. “I would have preferred a completely fit Patrick Bamford in the last two seasons.
“He knows how much I rate him as a person. It was the second day of pre-season when I told him in my office he wasn’t part of my plans for the upcoming Premier League season, due to the fact he’s had really difficult years over the past years.
“For me, Patrick is someone who needs to be the main man. If he gets this, he will score goals at every level because he’s a top player, but after the last few seasons, I wasn’t willing to do this and say he was our main man at Premier League level.
“With the CV he’s had at Leeds United, he shouldn’t be a back-up option. This is not what you should be when you are the main man for so many years.
“He has trained really professionally and his reaction was top class, as expected. He liked the openness and honesty.”
Bamford has made 205 appearances for Leeds since joining from Middlesbrough in 2018. He has scored 60 goals for the club, helping to fire Leeds to two promotions, and netting 17 times in the club’s return to the top-flight in 2022/23. Persistent injury problems have stifled his career of late, with the once first-choice striker relegated to a back-up role in the past couple of seasons.
Bamford’s absence in Leeds’ pre-season friendlies would suggest the club is allowing the player to actively pursue a deal. Given Wrexham’s ambitions, and their track record of attracting top-level talent in their ascent up the football pyramid, it is safe to assume the two parties could be in contact over the coming days and weeks. However, it has previously been reported that Bamford’s wages were outside of the club’s payment structure.
