Marcelo Bielsa on how Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford has become the 'complete mature professional'

Whites no 9 Bamford is thriving upon his second crack at the Premier League having netted 11 goals in 21 games in addition to providing five assists.

Bamford netted just once in 27 top-flight outings for Crystal Palace, Burnley, Norwich City and Middlesbrough between August 2015 and May 2017 - yet 23 of those outings came from the bench.

Bamford and Middlesbrough were then relegated but Bamford joined Leeds for £7m the following summer and is now earning rave reviews amidst talk of a possible England call.

"I suppose it is to do with how he has matured professionally. I don't know how he was before," said Bielsa, asked about Bamford's progress.

"What I can tell you is that Bamford is a complete mature professional.

"What indicates that a player has matured is the amount of attention he pays when he plays.

"That's to say it is very difficult to catch him by surprise because he is focused on the game.

"The other aspect is from himself - he takes the best out of himself.

"If you see the players in the best teams in the world, not the best players, they are players who always play at one hundred percent.

"It is very difficult that situations in games surprise or are superior to them.

"Those two characteristics you obtain by becoming more mature. It is not so frequent in young players but those who use their experiences.

"Bamford seems to me to have taken the correct conclusions from his career.

"He has been like this since I met him. I don't know how he was before."

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Thank you Laura Collins