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Leeds striker Patrick Bamford shares help from Fernando Torres earlier in his career
Leeds United’s Patrick Bamford has explained that he had big help from Fernando Torres earlier in his career.
Bamford, who was on the books at Chelsea at the same time as Spanish legend Torres, has claimed he received tips from the centre-forward in training.
Despite failing to make a breakthrough with Chelsea, left-footed striker Bamford has gone on to achieve success elsewhere, and is now really impressing in the Premier League with Leeds.
The 27-year-old has turned into the complete forward under the tutelage of manager Marcelo Bielsa, as he’s got the all-round game now to go along with his improved finishing.
“Fernando Torres helped me a fair bit as a striker [at Chelsea],” Bamford told .
“I don’t think Torres was threatened by a 19-year-old skinny Patrick Bamford. He saw me as a youngster trying to learn his craft. He was going through a tough time so that made it even more meaningful.”
TBR’s View:
Retired striker Torres may have had a somewhat underwhelming time at the back end of his playing career, but he was a World Cup winner and two-time European Championship winner with Spain.
Additionally, he won the Champions League, Europa League (two) and FA Cup, scoring 255 career club goals.
It would’ve been great for Bamford to pick his brain as a striker in his youth, but it’s been a major surprise to see what he’s achieved since.
It looked like he was destined for a decent career of being a Championship forward, as he was stuck in that bracket of being formidable in the second tier and not deemed good enough for the top flight.
However, he’s actually had the opportunity of regular minutes this season as a number nine at a Premier League club, and the faith shown by Bielsa has been rewarded.