Bielsa will be ‘over the moon’ with Bamford return – pundit

Jason Soutar
Marcelo Bielsa during an interview

Alan Hutton believes Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa will be “over the moon” with the goalscoring return of Patrick Bamford.

The England international missed nine Premier League matches for the Whites, but has returned in time for the congested winter period.

And on his first match back, Bamford scored a huge goal for Leeds against Brentford on Sunday, netting in the 95th minute of the match to snatch a 2-2 draw for Bielsa’s side.


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And former Aston Villa and Tottenham right-back Hutton has emphasised how happy the Argentine head coach will be that Bamford scored on his return.

He told Football Insider: “You saw how buzzing Bamford was celebrating after his goal. I mean, there’s nothing better as a striker when you’ve been out for a while.

“There’s been a lot of talk about how because he’s been missing, they’ve really been struggling. Then you come back, bang, goal. Everybody’s mood just lifts and everybody feels a little bit better.

“Bielsa will be over the moon that he’s back scoring. Excellent, just build on that. They’re not in a position where they want to be.

“They want to start winning games and getting up that league table. Hopefully with the likes of Bamford back they can do that. He is the missing piece for me.”

Next up for Leeds is a trip to Stamford Bridge to face European champions Chelsea, before visiting Manchester City three days later.

Meanwhile, the group that funds the San Francisco 49ers have “a deal in place” to buy Leeds and they are reportedly able to complete this at any point until 2024.

Leeds have been owned by Italian businessman Andrea Radrizzani since 2017. Four and a half years ago, he bought the club for around £45m.

The Athletic are reporting that “an option exists” for 49ers Enterprises to take a 100% controlling stake in Leeds until January 2024. This would include the ownership of Leeds‘ stadium, Elland Road.

The 49ers bought a 10% stake in the club in 2018 and over the past couple of years this has risen to 44%.