Newcastle United are reportedly considering a summer move for Leeds striker Patrick Bamford.
That’s according to the Daily Mail, who claim the 28-year-old is on the Magpies’ list of striker targets. They add that Newcastle’s interest may depend on whether or not Leeds stay in the Premier League.
Jesse Marsch’s side are in the relegation zone going into the final game, and will hope Newcastle do them a favour. Eddie Howe’s team face Burnley, who Leeds are looking to overtake on Sunday.
A move in 2022 for Bamford would certainly be interesting. He’s had a tough time this season, with injuries restricting him to just nine appearances.
However, he was excellent last season, scoring 17 Premier League goals and receiving his first ever England cap. He proved he can score goals in the top flight, something he’d struggled to do in the past.
Before last season with Leeds, he’d represented Crystal Palace, Norwich, Burnley and Middlesbrough in the Premier League, boasting a tally of just one goal.
And Newcastle very nearly joined that list seven years ago.
Steve McClaren wanted Patrick Bamford at Newcastle, but he rejected a move
The Times reported in June 2015 that the then new Newcastle manager Steve McClaren wanted to make Bamford his first summer signing.
This came after the striker had scored 17 times in the Championship for Boro, where he was on loan from Chelsea.
However, the Times added that Bamford turned down the chance to speak to Newcastle. Instead, he wanted to fight for a place Stamford Bridge. When he left Chelsea permanently in 2017, he’d played a grand total of zero times for the Blues.
Newcastle instead turned to Aleksandar Mitrovic, who scored nine goals in his first season. However, it wasn’t enough to stop the Magpies slumping into the Championship.
Bamford joined Palace a month after rejecting Newcastle, but scored zero goals in nine games before his loan was terminated.
He clearly wasn’t up to being a Premier League striker then. It would have been a real blunder by McClaren to bring him in.
Fast forward seven years and he’s a key player for Leeds, and a Newcastle United target once more.
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