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Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips has described his teammate Patrick Bamford as “unbelievable”, as well as saying that he’s a lot quicker than people give him credit for.

Bamford, who was a £10million signing (BBC) for Leeds back in 2018, has defied all his critics to start the season on fire for the Yorkshire giants.

There were plenty of question marks over whether or not the 27-year-old could lead the line for the Whites in the top-flight and many felt he lacked a clinical touch in front of goal.

But the left-footed striker has seven goals in just eight Premier League games so far and is playing with such a confidence that he looks like scoring whenever he’s on the pitch.

Phillips insists that the English centre-forward is deceptively fast and has given a glowing verdict on his quality:

“Last year was tough for Pat. He had a lot of stick. I had family and friends saying, ‘what’s Bamford doing? Is he a good player?’ Pat’s an unbelievable player,” he told the Times.

“He’s got all the attributes to be a great striker: strong, quite big, faster than people think. His finishing is unbelievable. I’ve always said he’s a really good player, just a confidence player.”

TBR’s View:

It’s true that Bamford’s pace is often overlooked, but he shows it regularly with his constant runs down the channel and the way he presses quickly from the front for his team.

Marcelo Bielsa’s faith in the Leeds forward has fully been repaid with the way he’s started the season and it’s a huge confidence to have a manager that believes in you despite reservations from elsewhere.

He’s had a brief taste of Premier League football in the past, but Bamford is fully seizing the first opportunity to start regularly in the top division and that’s why understandably people are suggesting he won’t be too far away from an England call-up.