Leeds United manager Daniel Farke has confirmed that Patrick Bamford is not in his plans for the upcoming season and the striker is not expected to leave the club.
The England international joined Leeds from Middlesbrough in 2018 and has made 205 appearances for the club, scoring 60 goals.
When Yorkshire club returned to the Premier League in 2020 he was a huge hit, scoring 17 top flight goals, but injuries have held him back since then.
Leeds have once again earned promotion from the Championship and while he made 17 league appearances in that successful campaign, they were all from the bench and he did not score a goal.
Farke is plotting a way to keep Leeds in the Premier League next season and his plans do not include the 31-year-old, who is under contract until next year but clearly available for transfer.
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Speaking after a goalless friendly draw with Manchester United on Saturday, Farke explained: ‘I had an honest conversation with him which was quite important for me because Patrick knows exactly how much I value him as a player.
‘I’ve spoken several times about this and I would have preferred a completely fit Patrick Bamford in the last two seasons.
‘He also knows how much I rate him as a person and for that I thought it was my duty to have a very honest, open conversation right now with him.
‘I told him that he’s not in my plans for the upcoming Premier League season. Just because of the fact he had a really difficult last years. I spoke quite often about how good a fit Patrick Bamford is.
‘For me Patrick is a player who needs right now at this stage to be the main man, needs the backing, an arm around the shoulder after difficult years.
‘If Patrick gets this he will score goals because he’s a top player, but after the last two seasons I was not willing to do this, to say that you are our main man at Premier League level.
‘I don’t think then a year at Leeds United as a back-up when you were the main man for so many years, it’s not the perfect situation.
‘That’s why we had this honest conversation. He’s trained really good, his fitness levels are really good, his reaction was top class.’
Leeds have signed a new forward this summer in Germany international Lukas Nmecha, who has arrived from Wolfsburg on a free transfer.
The former Manchester City striker started in the 0-0 draw with the Red Devils in Stockholm, a game which Farke sounded content with.
‘First of all, I’m pleased with this game. I’m not over the moon because I want to win each game,’ he said.
‘There was not too much time to get ready. We had to integrate many new faces and young players. Usually we would do an in-house local friendly but today we had this great stage.
‘Usually the quality for the first game is not too high but we adapted really well. We had many possession periods. Definitely not the worst side in the first half.
‘Second half would have preferred more possession. I would have preferred a bit more control but for 75 mins we were on a really good level.’
