Leeds United head coach Daniel Farke has given an insight into why he rates Patrick Bamford highly.
Bamford is one of the senior players in the Leeds squad, but injuries have severely affected him.
The £7 million (Sky Sports) striker made just 15 starts in the Championship last season. Bamford made a further 18 appearances as a substitute.
The Englishman scored eight goals and gave one assist in those matches. Bamford has played just 77 minutes in the Championship so far this season.
Joel Piroe has established himself as the number one striker for Leeds under Farke. Mateo Joseph is the second choice.
Bamford has fallen down the pecking order, but against Blackburn Rovers away from home at Ewood Park in the Championship last weekend, he replaced Piroe in the 69th minute.
The 31-year-old striker came on ahead of Joseph, who was introduced in the 82nd minute for Leeds.
What Daniel Farke has noticed about Patrick Bamford
On Thursday afternoon, Farke was asked about that decision in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Championship game between Leeds and Derby County at Elland Road on Saturday.
The Leeds boss noted that Bamford has impressed him a lot in training at Thorp Arch and explained why the striker could play a big role for his team in their quest to win automatic promotion to the Premier League.
Farke told LeedsLive when asked why he picked Bamford ahead of Joseph: “His confidence is coming back in training.
“This is the first time in a long time he has had four weeks of training back to back to work on.
“This was not a decision against Mateo. Patrick had smart movements in the box.
“A good solution when you need a goal out of nothing. If you impress in training you get more minutes and then you have to take your chance.”
Leeds United aiming to bounce back against Derby County
Leeds had won three successive games in the Championship before their defeat to Blackburn Rovers last weekend.
Against Derby on Saturday, the West Yorkshire club will be determined to bounce back and maintain the pressure on Sheffield United and Burnley.
Leeds are a point behind Burnley, who are second, and are three points behind the Blades, who are top.
With Derby languishing in 15th place and having won just one of their last six Championship game, Leeds should be able to beat them with ease at Elland Road.
