Leeds United ‘must sign top-class striker’ amid Patrick Bamford doubts, says former manager David O’Leary

Former Leeds United manager David O’Leary says Marcelo Bielsa’s side are perfectly suited to Premier League football and will be a force in the top flight next season.

However, he has urged the club to bring a new ‘top-class striker’ to Elland Road in the summer to boost their scoring output, admitting the Whites – and striker Patrick Bamford particularly – have been too wasteful this term despite their brilliance.

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And club legend Eddie Gray also agrees they need to strengthen the team this summer.

Bielsa’s men beat Derby County 3-1 on Sunday and were finally able to celebrate on the pitch after becoming the first Leeds team in 16 years to secure the club’s return to the top tier.

And they’ve done it in style, too, being crowned Championship winners – their first piece of silverware since winning the old First Division title in 1992 – after a superb season under the Argentine.

It hasn’t been a perfect campaign, however, with familiar doubts creeping in earlier in the year when it appeared they could be set for another near-miss.

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Bamford’s lack of consistency in front of goal has been a major gripe of supporters since his joined the club from Middlesbrough in 2018.

Bamford is Leeds’ top scorer this season but he’s joint-eighth in the Championship goal standings. His tally of 16 goals is shared with Jarrod Bowen, who hasn’t played in the Championship since January when he left Hull and signed for West Ham.

He hasn’t been that creative, either, providing just two assists.

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But, while his game is flawed, some will rightly argue that Leeds would not have been promoted without the 26-year-old striker.

There’s more to his game than just goals. In fact, he’s a key cog in Bielsa’s Leeds machine thanks to his work-rate, willingness to press and link-up play with his teammate, and his manager clearly rates him.

But O’Leary has told talkSPORT Breakfast Bamford’s inability to bury chances could come back to bite Leeds when they return to the Premier League, and says they need to be better in order to survive.

“I think they’re an ideal fit for the Premier League and they’ll make the Premier League even better,” said the man who took Leeds to the Champions League semi-finals in 2001.

“The attractive football Bielsa plays will only be good. He’s an ambitious manager and he’ll want to do the same. They’ll have a go, they wont be in awe of their opponents and they’ll take people on.

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“For a forward it must be fantastic to play in this team, it must be a dream, because they create so many chances.

“But the flaw in anything is they take the game to people, they create an amazing amount of chance but don’t score enough goals to put teams away.

“In the Premier League in particular, when you take people on and create chances you’ve got to take them.

“Patrick Bamford has done great, but I still think another centre-forward would be very important for them, personally.

“I’d like to see them sign a really top-class centre-forward.”

Elland Road legend Eddie Gray, while praising Bielsa for improving the players already at his disposal, also believes Leeds need to strengthen this summer to cope when they return to the promised land.

“I think they’ll bring a few players in,” said the former winger and Whites manager.

“Bielsa has improved many of the players in the squad he’s already got. He’s made vast improvements in individual players that I’ve seen over the years.

“But the quality in the Premier League is a lot different to the championship and they’ve not spent huge amounts of money. I think the club will spend.”

Listen to a clip of David O'Leary on the talkSPORT Breakfast above