‘Solid’, ‘very comfortable’: Alan Shearer hails £35k-a-week Leeds ace and teammate

Add as preferred source on Google

Leeds United duo Patrick Bamford and Stuart Dallas have both made Alan Shearer’s latest Premier League Team of the Week.

Bamford scored a sensational hat-trick in the 3-0 Premier League win over Aston Villa on Friday, helping Marcelo Bielsa’s side to third in the table ahead of Saturday’s fixtures.

After a goalless first half in the Midlands, the 27-year-old slotted home on the rebound in the 55th minute following Rodrigo’s saved effort.

Bamford then smashed in a stunning left-footed strike from the edge of the box on 67 minutes before curling home a deft effort inside the box seven minutes later.

Prior to this season, the Whites forward had scored just once in 27 Premier League appearances, but now he has six in six.

“What do I need I say?” Shearer wrote on the Premier League website. “Each goal was better than the last in his brilliant hat-trick. He already looks very comfortable at this level.”

As for Dallas, he struggled initially to deal with Jack Grealish but recovered to put in a great defensive display as well as contributing to attacks, doing well on the overlap.

“Won his duels to help his side keep a clean sheet and contributed to a succession of passing moves at the other end in a solid shift at right-back,” said Shearer.

TBR View:

Even as Leeds got promoted last term, some fans didn’t think Bamford was clinical enough at Championship level, while plenty more people then questioned whether he’d be able to cut it in the Premier League.

Needless to say, the Whites striker has answered his critics in style, while Bielsa deserves credit for persevering with the striker amid increasing scrutiny, a decision which has reaped dividends.

While Bamford might have earned the spotlight for his goalscoring heroics and overall improvements, Dallas continues to impress and progress following a simply sublime 2019-20 campaign where everything clicked for the £35,000-a-week ace.