You’re not seeing. Willy Gnonto claims that his Leeds United teammate, 30, is severely underappreciated.
Willy Gnonto has selected a teammate at Leeds United who he believes enhances the group dynamic.
Despite having a difficult season in the first half, Gnonto has managed to establish himself as a vital player at Leeds once more with six goals in his last nine league outings.
Daniel Farke has had to make a few changes to his starting lineup as a result of Leeds’ recent winning streak, which stands at 12 games in the Championship.
Due to injuries to other players, Gnonto, Junior Firpo, and Ilia Gruev all entered the team in 2024; Patrick Bamford, who took Joel Piroe’s place in attack, hasn’t looked back since.
Despite only receiving his first start of the season on New Year’s Day, Bamford has scored seven goals in ten games, so it’s hardly surprising that Leeds’ performance has improved with him at the forefront.
Leeds is a stronger team, according to Gnonto, when Bamford starts.
With players like Crysencio Summerville, Dan James, and Gnonto playing just off of him, Georginio Rutter has been able to play in a little deeper role since the 30-year-old’s arrival to the team.
Usually, the three players who play behind the striker grab the most attention because to their abilities, goals, and assists; nevertheless, Gnonto claims that Bamford’s contribution to the club is often underestimated in an interview with the Official Leeds United Podcast.
“I think that Pat doesn’t always get the credit that he truly deserves,” he stated. In the sense that we play, the role he plays is actually really important. Though you don’t often see him, he channels, runs in the deep, opens spaces, and offers balls to everyone else.
He’s always up there fighting for us, and I think that having someone like him helps us play better because we have different players, such as Cree, Dan, and me. We do better when we have a large player engaged in combat in the center.
Since his return, Bamford has improved Leeds’ career.
Thinking back to that evening at Stoke City, Bamford’s Leeds career seemed all but ended, yet it is amazing how he overcame hardship to make a remarkable recovery.
Stoke City vs. Leeds United – Sky Bet Championship Image courtesy of Matt McNulty/Getty Images
It was evident that he only needed a goal, and he hasn’t looked back since he scored one in the victory over Birmingham City on New Year’s Day.
Given his natural number nine qualities and Farke’s support in him when others doubted it, Bamford seems like a far better fit for the squad than Piroe.
Bamford is very much on track to achieve double figures by the end of the season, as Leigh Bromby stated a few months ago, and Leeds would receive a promotion in exchange.
