Patrick Bamford blown away by Leeds teammate Raphinha

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Patrick Bamford has told Monday Night Football (broadcast on Sky Sports; 8/2; 22:04) that Leeds United teammate Raphinha is something special, before sharing what has surprised him about the winger.

Raphinha was the star of the show as the Whites beat Crystal Palace 2-0 on Monday. The wide-man gave the Palace defenders a torrid evening.

His display could be summed up by an outrageous piece of skill during the first-half which left Gary Cahill with no choice but to bundle him over on the edge of the box.

The Brazilian has been outstanding for some time now. His performances are certainly making Rennes look pretty foolish for selling for just £17 million in the summer (via BBC Sport).

And following the game, Bamford expressed just how impressed he has been by the summer signing. He also suggested that he cannot quite believe he ended up at Elland Road.

“Raphinha’s brilliant,” he told Monday Night Football. “To be honest, I think he’s been a steal for Leeds. As soon he came in and you saw him in training, you know sometimes with players whether they’re good or they’re top class, and he really was.

“He stood out straight away. I’m surprised more established Premier League teams haven’t taken a punt on him because he really is something special and he’s still young.”

Marcelo Bielsa is understandably lauded for taking a mid-table Championship team and turning them into a side that are willing to take on any Premier League rival.

The team embodied the idea of the whole being worth more than the sum of its parts.

Kalvin Phillips was arguably the poster boy. But there seemed to not be a lot of players the fans could confidently back to be overwhelming successes in the top flight upon promotion.

However, Leeds have built on what they had. They have kept the incredible team dynamic. But they have added a lot of quality.

And in Raphinha, it appears that they may have a world-class player in their ranks.