Jurgen Klopp was interested in signing Leeds striker Patrick Bamford, and still admires the England international who is aiming to add to Premier League goal tally against Liverpool

Jurgen Klopp is such a big fan of Leeds’ Patrick Bamford he considered signing the striker earlier this year.

The Liverpool boss was looking for extra support up front after underwhelming campaigns from Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane last season.

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Bamford was a candidate for the backup role according to , but was put off by the idea of trading his starting berth at Leeds for time on the bench at Liverpool.

Bamford earned his first England cap last week after a fine start to life in the Premier League, and he takes on suitors Liverpool on Sunday hoping to continue his top flight run.

Klopp has long been a fan of play-making, hard-working strikers, with Firmino often outscored by wingers Mane and Mohamed Salah, whilst creating many of their goals.

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And there may be some parallels with Bamford, who Klopp complimented earlier in the year.

"He's an exceptional player,” he said in April ahead of the 1-1 draw.

“The work-rate is outstanding, and he still plays the football he plays on top of that, and scores goals. That's rare.”

Klopp even referenced a talkSPORT radio show he was listening to where presenters claimed Leeds required a new forward.

“They were saying that Leeds need a proper goalscorer, Bamford is not good enough, stuff like this,” said Klopp. “I'm so happy that he could prove them all wrong!”

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Bamford was signed by Chelsea in 2012, but never made a first team appearance, spending the entirety of his Blues career on loan.

The 28-year-old impressed at Middlesbrough after signing permanently in 2017, before being snapped up by Leeds, where he has excelled under Marcelo Bielsa.

He then managed 16 Championship goals during Leeds’ 2019/20 promotion campaign, before bettering his total with 17 goals in the Premier League last season.

Bamford signed a new deal with Leeds until 2026 this summer, but the Whites enquired about taking Curtis Jones on loan.

But there was no chance of that happening with the 20-year-old midfielder highly thought of.

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