Add as preferred source on Google

Marcelo Bielsa has explained that Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford is improving when it comes to finding space behind opposition defences, something he’s been learning from watching Borussia Dortmund attacker Erling Braut Haaland on video.

Bamford is one of the in-form players in the Premier League right now and he’s admitted he’s been getting tips from 20-year-old rising star Haaland.

“The last three weeks I had two or three videos sent every day of Erling Haaland, like 15 minutes each one. I had to watch them and see what I could pick out from him,” he said on the Ornstein and Chapman podcast.

Bamford is getting his first real crack in the top-flight this season as a regular starter and he’s repaying the faith shown in him by scoring eight goals in just 11 league games so far.

The 27-year-old Englishman is spearheading the Leeds attack so effectively with his high work-rate and clinical finishing, as well as showing some intelligent movement in the final third.

Whites manager Bielsa has described Bamford’s desire to improve his game aged 27 as “something special”.

“Haaland has a virtue in which he is easily able to be found behind the opponents’ defence. For me, this is a virtue that is difficult to acquire, and it’s something Patrick is progressively improving in this aspect,” Bielsa said, as quoted by Leeds Live.

“I thought if you observed what Haaland does, it would be useful for him… With Patrick it’s something very special as there are players already consolidated, they don’t usually have this aspect where they still want to improve.”

TBR’s View:

Bamford, who earns £35,000-a-week (Spotrac) has certainly surprised most with the way he’s performed this season and it’s fair to say it’s more than just a purple patch a quarter of the way into the campaign.

The left-footed forward is showing real signs of improvement, which is why it looks like these videos are paying off on the pitch for him.

It’s taken him a while to prove he’s got Premier League quality, but he now looks like he’s entering his peak and there may still be a lot more to come from him.