Most of the Chelsea fans must have thought that they finally have a deadly striker coming out of their own youth ranks when youngster Patrick Bamford set the Championship on fire while on loan with Middlesbrough in the 2014-15 season. Thanks to his 17 goals and five assists for the Teessiders from 38 Championship games, he was awarded PFA Championship Player of the Year that term. It promised to be a much different and a more glorious story for the young English striker but in reality, what followed was the exact opposite.
Bamford’s impressive loan spells with MK Dons, Derby County and of course Boro are well forgotten now courtesy to the disastrous last campaign he went through. The 22-year-old spent the first half of the season on loan at Crystal Palace and the second half with Norwich City and could not net a single goal in the process.
Discussions have already started flowing around that is Bamford one of those gifted but twisted strikers who can never be good enough for a Premier League side but can become a Championship legend along the way! Its nonsense to judge him too soon but it’s crystal clear that the English under-21 international is in dire need for a club where he can play week in week out to keep up his development.
The Daily Mail claims that Celtic have asked Chelsea about a loan deal for striker Patrick Bamford but a host of Championship clubs namely Aston Villa, QPR and Fulham are also on alert. Bamford moving to Celtic on a loan deal would prove to be a nightmare spell for the English youngster. What the 22-year-old needs is regular first-team football and won’t be able to find it at Celtic Park.
The Bhoys have already added one striker to their ranks this summer in Moussa Dembele, but given that Stefan Scepovic, Carlton Cole and Colin Kazim-Richards have all left the club, adding one more striker could be a priority for manager Brendan Rodgers. However, they need someone who would be happy to languish on the bench, not someone who needs regular first-team football to bring his career back to life.
With 40 goal scorer from last season Leigh Griffiths and highly-rated Moussa Dembele at the club, Bamford would struggle for game time even if the Northern Irishman opts for a formation with two strikers up front. At QPR, Fulham or Aston Villa, Bamford will be able to get more time on the pitch to revive his career that became stagnant during the last season.
