Patrick Bamford has opened up on the one moment he wanted to leave Leeds United amid a really testing three years of his career.
Bamford had been riding the crest of a wave at the beginning of the 2021/22 season, winning his one and only England call-up on the back of a 17-goal season in the Premier League at Elland Road.
However, since picking up an injury in a 1-1 draw away at Newcastle United, which was just the fifth game of that season, Bamford has never quite been the same player.
Bamford would go onto play just 132 minutes of Premier League football for the remainder of that campaign, with Leeds just about sealing survival.
In the following season, Bamford was able to play significantly more, but was still someway of returning to his best form as Leeds went through four different managers on their way to relegation from the Premier League.
Bamford shares the one moment he wanted Leeds exit
It was actually the end of that campaign which stemmed Bamford’s wish to leave, but not because Leeds were back in the Championship.
In a crucial game against Newcastle United that Leeds had to win, Bamford missed a penalty with the score at 1-0. Unfortunately, the match ended in a 2-2 draw.
That was actually the second spot-kick that season Bamford missed, having also done so in a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal at Elland Road. However, it was the one against Newcastle which prompted an unacceptable reaction from a minority of Leeds fans.
While he was driving home from the match, two supporters turned up at the front gates of Bamford’s house, waiting for him to return.
Speaking on the latest episode of the BBC’s 72+ Podcast, Bamford revealed that neither thankfully did anything other than give him a stare down.
However, due to the fear it inserted into his family, the 31-year-old has shared how that moment made him seriously consider pushing for a Leeds exit, but in the end did not want to look for the ‘easy way out’.
He said: “I wouldn’t say it ever made me want to hang the boots up and finish football, I’ll know when the time is right for that. But at a point, when I knew my family wasn’t comfortable here, being honest at that point, I wanted to leave.
“I wanted a fresh start and wanted to get somewhere where it was a new start for the family, something fresh and it was just normal, as easy as that sounds.
“But it wasn’t until sitting down and thinking about it, I had to make sure my missus was OK with it, and reassure her it won’t happen again by putting measures in place.
“I knew it was a tough one for me, because after going down, there was still unfinished business with Leeds because I felt like I hadn’t been able to contribute for the last 18 months in the Prem. Part of me wanted to really start somewhere new, that would almost be the easy option.
“Over that summer, there was a lot of thinking hard about it, having a few chats and that. In the end, I said I didn’t want to take the easy option and the easy way out.”
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Leeds could not have begrudged Bamford a move
This is some pretty honest stuff from Bamford and given the abuse he was subjected to, it is hard to begrudge him of the fact he wanted to leave.
Bamford hasn’t ever really been the same since that moment but did almost go full circle during the second half of last season.
A run of seven goals in 10 starts almost spearheaded Leeds to an instant return to the Premier League, but unfortunately form and fitness deserted him again.
Bamford now finds himself behind Mateo Joseph and Joel Piroe in the pecking order at Elland Road and so as Leeds’ oldest outfield player, his most important contribution to the team is his leadership.
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