Leeds United man reveals reason for personal Nottingham Forest gesture which left friends in tears

The 29-year-old began his career at Forest as a schoolboy, before joining Chelsea as a teenager, pulling on the garibaldi red just twice at the very beginning of his days as a professional footballer. As Leeds walked out alongside their Premier League counterparts on Sunday, February 5, Bamford was seen holding a bouquet of flowers in honour of ex-Forest owner Nigel Doughty, who passed away on February 4, 2012.

Doughty’s son Michael is a close personal friend of Bamford’s and business partner at Hylo Athletics, a sustainable footwear company. A former professional footballer himself, Doughty tweeted at full-time: “Arrived at @NFFC today the day after the big man's 11 year anniversary to experience one of greatest bits of friendship I've ever felt. Safe to say there wasn't a dry eye in my family. Thank you mate @Patrick_Bamford for remembering and marking it in the most thoughtful way.”

At full-time, Bamford discussed his planned floral gesture that caught the Doughty family by surprise: “It was one of those things. I actually thought that Forest as a club would do something, considering it was his anniversary yesterday.

"But obviously he is a really close family friend of mine and I know Michael and Helen were here watching today so that was kind of more for the support for them. But also, I think if it wasn't for him, then Forest might not be where they are today so I think everyone owes a lot to him at this club."