Irrespective of what did, or did not, happen on deadline day, Leeds United still had an incredibly busy summer transfer window for their return to the Premier League.
They may not have landed Facundo Buonanotte or Harry Wilson in the final days of the window, but they did make ten first-team additions to the squad, including the likes of Anton Stach, Lucas Perri, Sean Longstaff, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
The depth of incoming signings meant that there were always going to have to be exits along the way, and Patrick Bamford was one star who had to move on from Elland Road.
Why Patrick Bamford left Leeds United
In July, Daniel Farke confirmed to the media that he told the former England international that he was not going to be in the squad for the Premier League season.
The Leeds boss told reporters: “In the second day of pre-season, I got him into my office and told him he is not in my plans for the upcoming season. It would have been easy for me to hide behind the sporting director or wait until we got someone else in, but he has done so much for this club, he deserves respect and transparency.”
It did not come as a huge surprise, though, after the forward ended the 2024/25 campaign with 17 Championship appearances and zero starts, per Sofascore.
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Leeds and Bamford then came to an agreement to terminate his contract a year early to look elsewhere for a new club, but he has yet to find one at the time of writing.
The left-footed forward was a Marmite figure among supporters in recent seasons, becoming a bit of a scapegoat at times. Now, Leeds may have a new scapegoat in the squad after Bamford’s departure, and it is not Calvert-Lewin.
Leeds have found their new Patrick Bamford
The former Everton man may be the most obvious player to take on that mantle given that he missed a penalty and missed four ‘big chances’ off the bench in his debut against Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup.
However, Calvert-Lewin has yet to start a game for the club and did not have a pre-season with a team, which means that he is getting a bit of slack for the moment.
One player who is not getting much slack is Wales international Dan James, who appears to be on his way to becoming the team’s new scapegoat after Bamford.
Appearances
3
Starts
3
Shots
3
Shots on target
0
Goals
0
Big chances created
0
Assists
0
Dribbles completed
1
As you can see in the table above, the former Manchester United man has not had a strong start to the season in the Premier League, with a complete lack of impact in the final third.
LeedsUnitedNews claimed this week that James’ position in the starting XI should be under threat because of his disappointing performances, and stated that Farke should be ‘concerned’ by his form.
It is fair to say that he has not had the best start to the season, and supporters will remember that he was loaned out to Fulham when the Whites were last in the Premier League because he was not deemed to be good enough for the squad, but he is still a useful player.
Like Bamford, who scored 60 goals for the club, did in recent seasons, James will still have a part to play for Farke, after scoring 25 goals in the last two seasons for the German boss.
James, who pundit Sanny Rudravajhala once described as “electric”, may just have to settle for using his speed as a weapon off the bench, rather than being relied upon as a starter week-in-week-out.
Whilst he has faced his fair share of criticism and his place in the team may be at risk, as explained by LeedsUnitedNews, the Welshman could be an impactful player for the club in a different way this season.
Therefore, whilst he may be on his way to being the new Bamford at the moment, James dropping to the bench to play a slightly more reserved role may lead to less criticism of his performances due to him not being as important to the team.
