'Staggering' - TalkSPORT pundit touts big step up for 'remarkable' Leeds United player

TalkSPORT pundit Darren Bent has argued that Patrick Bamford’s “staggering” form means that the Leeds United striker deserves to be in contention for an England call-up.
Patrick Bamford of Leeds United. (Photo by Jon Super - Pool/Getty Images)Patrick Bamford of Leeds United. (Photo by Jon Super - Pool/Getty Images)
Patrick Bamford of Leeds United. (Photo by Jon Super - Pool/Getty Images)

The 27-year-old scored his 12th goal of the Premier League campaign in Monday night’s 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.

Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane and Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin are the only English players to have registered more strikes in the top flight this term.

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And after another eye-catching display against the Eagles at Elland Road, Bent is convinced that the Leeds hitman has earned a chance to prove himself on the international stage.

Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: “He’s got to be in the discussion [for an England call-up]. He deserves it.

"The Premier League, people have said is the toughest league in the world, and he’s up there scoring goals, fresh out of the Championship.

“It’s quite strange because his journey kind of reminds me of my own. I came up out of the Championship when Ipswich didn’t get promoted, went to Charlton, got two goals on my debut, came into the England squad. It happened really quickly, after one game.

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"It’s quite staggering how well he is doing. A lot of people questioned him, whether he could step up. He’s took that challenge on the chin and gone, ‘You know what? I’m going to prove to everybody, not only the Leeds supporters, but everyone else around, that I’m good enough to score goals in the Premier League’, and he’s certainly doing that.

"He will have seen what everyone was saying, he will have gotten used to it. That season, when they didn’t get promoted, people will have said, ‘Oh it’s Patrick Bamford’s fault, he misses too many chances, they need to go and get another centre-forward’.

"He’s got to be honest and say that he’s probably surprised himself a little bit.

"To be sitting on 12 Premier League goals already, that is a remarkable achievement. He has been brilliant.”

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Bent isn’t the only pundit to have advocated for Bamford’s international potential in recent days.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday, Paul Merson said: “I think he’s on the radar now, I seriously do.”