Patrick Bamford
Patrick James Bamford is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Sheffield United.
Bamford began his career at Nottingham Forest, making his debut in December 2011, at the age of 18. A month later he joined Chelsea for a fee of £1.5 million. He was loaned out to Milton Keynes Dons, Derby County, and Middlesbrough, winning the Championship Player of the Year for the 2014–15 season. Bamford then had further loans at Premier League clubs Crystal Palace, Norwich City and Burnley, but saw limited playing time.
After five years at the club without making a first-team appearance, Bamford left Chelsea and returned to Middlesbrough for a fee in the region of £5.5 million in January 2017. He subsequently joined Leeds United in July 2018 for a fee possibly rising to £10 million, and helped the club win the Championship title during the 2019–20 season and gain promotion to the Premier League.
Bamford was capped by the Republic of Ireland at under-18 level before changing allegiances to England. He has represented England from under-18 to senior level, making his senior debut in September 2021.
Early life
Bamford was born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, and raised in the small, nearby village of Norwell, Nottinghamshire. He joined Nottingham Forest's academy as an eight-year-old after playing junior football for Muskham Cougars. He attended the independent fee-paying Nottingham High School, where due to the lack of a school football team, he played rugby union as a full-back, until the end of Year 10. Bamford ended up with five A*s, three As and two Bs in his GCSEs. He studied French, History, Biology, and General Studies at A-Level and attained three Bs and a C. Bamford was offered a place at Harvard University and on the Harvard Men's Soccer team, but he rejected the offer to continue his career in England.Described by the Yorkshire Evening Post in 2018 as "not your typical footballer", he plays the piano, violin, guitar and saxophone, and is conversational in French, Spanish, and German. He has said that his more privileged upbringing has led him to be treated differently in a sport where most players are from the working class.
Club career
Nottingham Forest
Bamford was an unused substitute during Forest's League Cup third round tie against Newcastle United at the City Ground on 21 September 2011, a 4–3 defeat after extra time. He made his Forest debut against Cardiff City in a 1–0 home defeat on 31 December, coming on as a substitute for Matt Derbyshire with 12 minutes remaining.He appeared in Forest's next game on 2 January 2012, coming on again as an added-time substitute for Andy Reid as Forest beat Ipswich Town 3–1 at Portman Road.
Chelsea
On 31 January 2012, Bamford joined Chelsea on a five-year contract for a fee of £1.5 million. On 8 February 2012, he started to train with Chelsea's first-team squad. He made his debut for the reserves in a friendly against Gillingham at Cobham, with Chelsea emerging victorious 5–4. Bamford netted his first goal in Chelsea colours, rounding off a tidy team move and also scored his second, the winner from the penalty spot. On 21 July 2015, Bamford signed a new three-year contract with Chelsea before being loaned out to Crystal Palace for the upcoming season.Loan to Milton Keynes Dons
On 22 November 2012, he signed on loan at Milton Keynes Dons until 7 January. He made his debut three days later against Colchester United, and ended the match with three assists. Manager Karl Robinson said that he hoped Bamford would stay until the end of season.On 31 January 2013, Bamford's loan was extended until 20 May, having impressed enough before sustaining a hamstring injury. On 19 March, he netted the first goal of his professional career at Crewe Alexandra's Gresty Road.
On 1 July, Bamford rejoined MK Dons on loan until 5 January 2014. Bamford scored 14 league goals in 23 appearances for MK Dons during this six-month period, and thus was the subject of speculation that he would be sent on loan to a club at a higher level. On 31 December, Karl Robinson confirmed that Bamford would not be returning to MK Dons after his loan deal expired. His new club was later announced as Derby County. He made his last appearance for Milton Keynes on 4 January 2014, where he scored his 17th goal of the season in the closing stages of a 3–3 draw against the holders Wigan Athletic in the third round of the FA Cup.
Loan to Derby County
On 3 January 2014, Derby County confirmed the signing of Bamford on a loan until the end of the season. Bamford made his debut for Derby as a substitute on 10 January, in a 4–1 away defeat to Leicester City. His first goal came in his next game, at home to Brighton & Hove Albion, when he opened the scoring in the 76th minute after coming on as a 59th-minute substitute for Simon Dawkins. He dedicated the goal to his godfather, former Nottingham Forest chairman Nigel Doughty. On 24 January, Bamford won the Football League Young Player of the Month award for December following his performances on loan at MK Dons. One day later, he scored his 19th goal of the season in a 1–1 draw against Blackburn Rovers. Bamford continued his great form, scoring in the next two matches, against Yeovil Town on 28 January and against Birmingham City on 1 February. On 18 February, Bamford's strike earned Derby a 1–0 win at Hillsborough against Sheffield Wednesday. However, he failed to score in the next six games for Derby, but on 25 March, he scored in a 2–1 loss against Ipswich. In the next game on 29 March against Charlton Athletic, he scored the second of three goals, capitalising on an error by the captain Johnnie Jackson in the 38th minute. Bamford continued his goalscoring form as he netted his 25th of the season away from home against Blackpool on 8 April.Loan to Middlesbrough
On 29 August 2014, Bamford joined Middlesbrough on loan until 1 January. Bamford made his debut as a substitute on 30 August 2014, in a 1–0 home defeat to Reading. On 20 September he scored his debut goal for Boro in his first start for the club: a 4–0 home win over Brentford.Bamford replaced Grant Leadbitter for the final eight minutes of extra time in the third round of the League Cup against Liverpool on 23 September. In added time, he was fouled by Kolo Touré for a penalty which he converted himself to make the score 2–2, thus resulting in a penalty shootout. Although his penalty in the shoot-out was saved by Simon Mignolet, he scored one in sudden death, but Middlesbrough lost 14–13 on penalties.
After scoring in the League Cup against Liverpool on 23 September, Bamford went through a dry period of four games without scoring. On 1 November, he scored the opening goal in a 3–0 win over Rotherham United. He scored again three days later against Norwich City in a 4–0 win for Boro. On 22 November, Bamford came off the bench in the 55th minute against Wigan Athletic, and within three minutes of coming onto the pitch, scored the goal which levelled the game, the match ending in a 1–1 draw. Bamford continued his fine scoring form, scoring Boro's only goal on 29 November to share the points with Blackburn Rovers and on 6 December in a 5–1 win at The Den against Millwall: four goals in five games.
Bamford again continued to impress during the game against league leaders Derby County on 13 December, in which he scored the opening goal within the first six minutes, and later won a penalty which was converted by Leadbitter in a 2–0 win. The result moved his team into 2nd place in the Championship, level on points with Bournemouth. On 31 December, his loan was extended for the remainder of the season.
On 24 January 2015, in the fourth round of the FA Cup, Bamford exploited an error by Fernando to open the scoring as Middlesbrough defeated reigning Premier League champions Manchester City 2–0 away.
On 3 April, Bamford sent Middlesbrough to the top of the Championship table by scoring his 17th goal of the season in a 1–0 win against Wigan Athletic. On 11 April, he scored his 18th goal of the season against Rotherham United, but did miss a penalty during stoppage-time after fighting over who would take it with fellow striker Kike who won the penalty originally. Later on, Bamford revealed that he was the designated penalty-taker and apologised to his teammate for missing the penalty. Also that month, he was nominated at the Football League Awards for Championship Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year. He won the first award, with the second going to Dele Alli of Milton Keynes Dons.
Bamford ended the 2014–15 season with 19 goals in total, 17 coming in the league, making him the team's top scorer for the season.
Loan to Crystal Palace
On 21 July 2015, Bamford signed on loan for Crystal Palace for the upcoming season. After a successful pre-season with Crystal Palace, which included a hat-trick against Bromley, Bamford was an unused substitute for Palace's opening match against Norwich City on 8 August. He made his competitive debut for Palace eight days later in a 2–1 home defeat to Arsenal, replacing James McArthur for the final ten minutes.On 28 December, Bamford terminated his loan spell and returned to Chelsea after featuring as a substitute in the 0–0 draw against Swansea City. Bamford cited lack of first-team opportunities as the reason for his departure. It was subsequently reported that Bamford's decision had been made by himself alone, and that the two clubs involved were to hold talks over his future.