Regardless of what happened on the deadline day or not, Leeds United still had an incredibly busy summer transfer window to return to the Premier League.
They may not have landed Fakundo Buonanot or Harry Wilson on the last day of the window, but they added 10 first teams to their team, including Anton Stacher, Lucas Peri, Sean Longstaff and Dominique Calvert Lewin.
The depth of the incoming signature meant that there was always an exit on the way, and Patrick Bamford was the star that had to go further from Elland Road.
Why Patrick Bamford left Leeds United
In July, Daniel Fark confirmed to the media that he told the former England International he would not be joining the team in the Premier League season.
The Leeds boss told reporters: “On the second day of the preseason, I put him in my office and told him he wasn’t in my plans for next season. It would have been easy to hide behind the sports manager or greet someone else, but he did a lot for this club.
However, that wasn’t a big surprise after the forwards finished the 2024/25 campaign with 17 championship appearances and zero starts per sofa score.
Leeds and Bamford then signed a contract to end his contract a year earlier and were able to look elsewhere for the new club, but he has yet to find it at the time of writing.
The front of the left foot is a marmite figure among supporters of the recent season, and sometimes a bit of a scapegoat. Now, Leeds may have a new scapegoat for their team after Bamford’s departure, but that’s not Calvert Lewin.
Leeds has found a new Patrick Bamford
The former Everton man may be the most obvious player to take on that mantle given that he missed the penalty and missed four “big chances” from the bench in his debut with Sheffield in the League Cup.
However, Calvert-Lewin had not yet started the club’s game and had no preseason with the team.
The player who isn’t too lazy is Wales International Dan James. Dan James appears to be on the way to become the team’s new scapegoat after Bamford.
25/26 Premier League | And James |
|---|---|
exterior | 3 |
start | 3 |
shot | 3 |
Target shot | 0 |
the goal | 0 |
A big opportunity has been created | 0 |
assist | 0 |
The dribbling is complete | 1 |
Statistics via Sofascore | |
As you can see from the table above, the former Manchester United guy didn’t have a strong start to his season in the Premier League. There was no complete impact in the last third.
LeedsunitedNews argued this week that James’ first position in the XI should be under threat due to his disappointing performance, and Fark said in his form that he should be “concerned.”
It’s fair to say he’s not off to the best start of the season. The supporters remember him being loaned out to Fulham when the white guys were last in the Premier League, as they didn’t think he was enough for the team, but he’s still a useful player.
Like Bamford, who scored 60 goals for the club, in recent seasons, James still plays the role of playing for Fark after scoring 25 goals in the past two seasons for the German boss.
James, a formerly known as “electric,” may have to settle down to use speed as a weapon from the bench, rather than being relied on as a starter for the week.
As LeedsunitedNews explained, he faces a significant share of criticism and his position on the team may be at risk, but the Welsman could be an impactful player for the club this season.
So, while he may be on his way to becoming the new Bamford at this point, James may fall on the bench to play a slightly more modest role, and there could be less criticism of his performance as he is less important to the team.