Patrick Bamford departed Leeds United on less-than-ideal terms in the summer following the termination of his contract, but the striker has since revived his form under Chris Wilder at Sheffield United.
The 32-year-old joined the Championship side on a short-term deal in November and made an immediate impact at Bramall Lane, scoring six goals in 13 league outings.
After just a handful of appearances, Wilder was keen to tie Bamford down on a longer contract, prompting Sheffield United to open discussions with his representatives.
Ipswich Town and several other Championship clubs registered their interest, but ahead of Sheffield United’s FA Cup tie against Mansfield Town, Bamford agreed to extend his stay with the Blades. In a clear show of faith, Sheffield United have now secured his services until the end of next season.
Chris Wilder is not happy with the red card for Patrick Bamford
Bamford captained and scored in Sheffield United’s 3-1 win over Ipswich Town on Saturday. However, he was sent off in the 84th minute after he picked up a second yellow card for simulation.
It was a bittersweet occasion for the striker, who again showed his importance for the Blades, but will now miss the next game against Millwall.
Wilder insisted that if the referee was happy to brandish a second yellow at Bamford for diving, he didn’t understand why the same was not done with Ipswich’s Femi Seriki at the other end.
The Blades boss was quoted as saying by the Sheffield Star: “I thought he’d gone around the goalkeeper.
“I’ve not had a chance to speak to Pat, but he’s right there. We had one on the far side in the first half as well, and so if the ref thought Pat had dived and booked him, and felt Femi had dived, why didn’t he book Femi?
“But, yeah, there it is.”
Bamford has rekindled career at Bramall Lane
Bamford is not over the way he was treated at Leeds last summer and conceded that he was happy to get the warm welcome from Sheffield United fans.
He may have complaints about how his exit from Elland Road was handled. However, he was done at Leeds and needed to move on from the club.
| Games played | 13 |
|---|---|
| Goals | 6 |
| Minutes played | 671 |
At Sheffield United, he has found a manager in Wilder who is prepared to back him, and most importantly, he is back among the goals in the Championship.
The former Leeds striker is looking at home in Sheffield United colours, and his goalscoring suggests that the talent has yet to fade.
He won two promotions at Leeds and had a brilliant goalscoring season in the Premier League. However, he is now getting back to his best at Bramall Lane.
Problem is, he misses vital chances when the heat is on, and suddenly gets injured when the team is playing bad.