Patrick Bamford has cut his loan spell at Burnley short and it now looks as though he will be sold by Chelsea to Middlesborough.
Bamford, who Chelsea signed for £1.5 million as an 18-year-old has failed to live up to the expectation that the club had for him. They obviously saw something in Bamford, but the club now seems ready to cut the chord after another failed loan spell.
This was Bamford’s fifth loan spell since joining the Blues in January 2012 and his third consecutive failed loan spell. He was unable to impress at Crystal Palace and Norwich making just 18 appearances total, most of which were from the bench. And things were even worse for him at Burnley, playing just 24 minutes total this season. He failed to register a single goal for any of them.
Alan Pardew gave stiff competition and good form from other players as the main reason Bamford hadn’t played much for the Eagles saying: “We kept on winning and you have to keep the balance of the side. It is as simple as that.”
Sean Dyche had a similar view on Bamford’s time at Burnley. “There’s good competition and it’s fair to say when he came in he was well aware we’ve got players who have done well historically here and continue to do so” Dyche explained.
Where did it all go wrong for a young prospect who showed so much promise?
Firstly, all three of teams were at the bottom end of the table and didn’t enjoy a lot of possession in matches. For this reason, they needed a target man to hold up the ball and be physical. The likes of Glenn Murray, Cameron Jerome and Sam Vokes fit the bill. Bamford has never been a very physical player, making it hard for him to force his way into the team.
A lack of game time leads to a loss of confidence in almost any player, and a lack of confidence meant that Bamford struggled even more so in his attempts to impress in the few opportunities he did get.
This may be backed up by some of Bamford’s early success at teams who were at the top end of their respective leagues.
After joining Chelsea from Nottingham Forest, he immediately joined MK Dons on loan, scoring four goals between January and the end of the season. It was the following season when things really took off for the youngster.
Bamford scored 17 goals in the first half of the 2012/13 season, leading to him going on loan to Derby for the remainder of the season, scoring a further seven goals once there.
One of my gut feelings about players who can’t get game time is that they are not doing enough work to impress the manager. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case when it comes to Bamford according to then Derby manager Steve McClaren who, speaking in April 2014 said: “He’s a player and a goalscorer, but what has impressed me is his work rate, his discipline.”
If Bamford’s work rate isn’t in question, what else could it be?
Bamford actually spent most of his time at Derby playing on the right side of a front three. Maybe he was happy at first just getting some game time, but as he got older, perhaps he was less willing to do the team job and more adamant that he was going to play down the middle.
Let’s face it, when you are at a team at the bottom of the table, you have to be willing to do whatever the team requires of you and I suspect this may not have been what Bamford wanted. Surely playing in a different position is better than not playing at all, especially for a developing player.
So what does the future hold for Patrick Bamford?
It is likely that he will return to Middlesborough, this time on a permanent basis. Aitor Karanka recently spoke of his surprise at Bamford’s lack of game time in the Premier League, saying: “Two years ago he wasn’t just a good player, he was the best in the league.”
Karanka was referring to the 2014/15 season which Bamford spent on loan at Boro in the Championship, scoring 19 goals and winning Championship Player of the Season. It shows that maybe Bamford is justified in wanting to play down the middle, he clearly has a lot of talent and a goalscoring ability.
Going to a team where the manager already has complete faith in his ability, might be the best move for Bamford.
Middlesborough like to play with the ball on the ground, a style which is more to the 23-year-old’s liking. Bamford can be the last man in a move, rather than a target man who has to hold play up. And after such a successful loan spell playing down the middle for Middlesborough, it is likely that Bamford will get the opportunity to do so again, in a team which has struggled for goals this season.
