'If they can' - Ex-Leeds United & Sheffield Wednesday man names thing Daniel Farke must do to secure Premier League promotion

Ex-Leeds United and Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Carlton Palmer has urged Daniel Farke to get Patrick Bamford firing in front of goal again as the Whites look to replace the goals and assists lost by the departures of Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter.

Rutter and Summerville scored a combined 27 goals and provided 26 assists between them in the Championship last term but with the pair moving to the Premier League, the burden now falls to those who have remained along with the club’s summer signings. Bamford netted 17 goals in 38 Premier League outings during the 2020-21 campaign but he has been unable to replicate those heights after struggling with injury for much of the last three seasons. Last term, the striker netted nine goals in 36 games last term.

Mateo Joseph has led the line for Leeds in the early stages of the season and after providing a wonderful assist for Dan James at Sheffield Wednesday last month, he netted his first goal of the campaign as he opened the scoring in the recent triumph over Hull City at Elland Road.

"He's proven that he can score goals in the Championship. In the 2019/20 season, he played 45 games, the most he's ever played in a season, and scored 16 goals, before scoring 17 goals in a 38-game Premier League season,” Palmer told Football League World of Bamford.

"But since then, it's been terrible with injuries. In 2021/22, nine games and two goals in the Premier League. 2022/23, 28 games and four goals. Last season, 33 games and eight goals. He has fallen off.”

He continued: "He's stayed at the football club, and they will be hoping he's able to contribute to their aims of getting promotion this season, should they use him, at any time, that he is able to contribute with a tally of 15-20 goals. If they can get him to do that, he's a tremendous finisher who knows where the back of the net is. If they can do that, they can get promoted this season."

Get Inside Elland Road with Graham Smyth - the new newsletter packed with original, in-depth Leeds writing for less than £1 a week

Last week, Farke insisted Bamford remained an important part of his squad and that the only focus was getting the striker fit and firing once again.

He said: "We don't have to speak about the experience and the quality Patrick has. So for him, the most important topic is to be fit, to train regularly, to come into his rhythm and then he's an excellent Championship striker and he has also proven this, even on Premier League level. A cap for England is no coincidence and to score double figures on Premier League level is never coincidence. But of course he was out for, I think, 11 weeks without team training with the end of last season, the summer break and the beginning of this pre-season.”