David Prutton backs Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford to enter conversation for England call

DAVID PRUTTON believes Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford must enter the reckoning to represent England at next year's Euros if netting in the "high teens" of goals during the current Premier League campaign.
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Whites striker Bamford took his haul to six goals in just six games with a 19-minute hat-trick in Friday night's 3-0 win at Aston Villa which has left the forward joint third in the division's Golden Boot race alongside Leicester City's Jamie Vardy and one ahead of England's no 1 marksman and Tottenham Hotspur star Harry Kane.

Another Spurs ace, Son Heung-Min, tops the goal charts with eight, one ahead of another Three Lions striker in the recently called-up Everton forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

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Prutton knows competition for a place in Gareth Southgate's squad is rife but the Sky Sports pundit and YEP columnist believes Bamford would surely at least have prospects if maintaining his current rate of progress.

FLYING: Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford races off to celebrate after completing a 19-minute hat-trick in Friday's 3-0 win at Aston Villa. Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images.FLYING: Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford races off to celebrate after completing a 19-minute hat-trick in Friday's 3-0 win at Aston Villa. Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images.
FLYING: Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford races off to celebrate after completing a 19-minute hat-trick in Friday's 3-0 win at Aston Villa. Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images.

"He's just got to be confident in his own ability," Prutton told the YEP.

"The only thing that he can do is continue scoring goals in a team that is playing well.

"This conversation will be going on all over the Premier League with English talent playing for teams who are doing particularly well or somebody that is particularly standing out - can that next step for them be England?

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"But Gareth can't then name a 50-man squad for friendlies just so he gets everyone in.

"Even Jack Grealish is a player that has come on in leaps and bounds and looks to be the type of creative player that we salivate over but he is still not guaranteed a starting berth or a place in the squad so let's not walk before we can run.

"But we are going into a season that touch wood hopefully has a tournament at the end of it and if you are looking at that tournament and a manager who is picking purely on form then if Patrick racks up late teens type of goals then there has got to be a conversation.

"But then you can look at Danny Ings, a player who has been fantastic over the course of a couple of seasons now for Southampton and there is still lots to debate about whether he could be anywhere near the England team.

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"All Patrick can do is take care of his responsibility to himself and to his team and whatever comes of it after that deal with it as and when but he is doing his share of what the equation would be right now."

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Thank you Laura Collins

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