Patrick Bamford

His first goal came in his next game, at home to Brighton & Hove Albion, when he opened the scoring in the 76th minute after coming on as a 59th-minute substitute for Simon Dawkins.

He dedicated the goal to his godfather, former Nottingham Forest chairman Nigel Doughty.

On 24 January, Bamford won the Football League Young Player of the Month award for December following his performances on loan at MK Dons.

Patrick James Bamford (born 5 September 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Leeds United.

He made one appearance for the England national team in 2021.

Bamford began his career at Nottingham Forest, making his debut in December 2011, at the age of 18.

A month later he joined Chelsea for a fee of £1.5 million.

Bamford was an unused substitute during Forest's League Cup third round tie against Newcastle United at the City Ground on 21 September 2011, a 4–3 defeat after extra time.

He made his Forest debut against Cardiff City in a 1–0 home defeat on 31 December, coming on as a substitute for Matt Derbyshire with 12 minutes remaining.

He appeared in Forest's next game on 2 January 2012, coming on again as an added-time substitute for Andy Reid as Forest beat Ipswich Town 3–1 at Portman Road.

On 31 January 2012, Bamford joined Chelsea on a five-year contract for a fee of £1.5 million.

On 8 February 2012, he started to train with Chelsea's first-team squad.

He made his debut for the reserves in a friendly against Gillingham at Cobham, with Chelsea emerging victorious 5–4.

Bamford netted his first goal in Chelsea colours, rounding off a tidy team move and also scored his second, the winner from the penalty spot.

On 22 November 2012, he signed on loan at Milton Keynes Dons (MK Dons) until 7 January.

He made his debut three days later against Colchester United, and ended the match with three assists.

Manager Karl Robinson said that he hoped Bamford would stay until the end of season.

On 31 January 2013, Bamford's loan was extended until 20 May, having impressed enough before sustaining a hamstring injury.

On 19 March, he netted the first goal of his professional career at Crewe Alexandra's Gresty Road.

He was loaned out to Milton Keynes Dons, Derby County, and Middlesbrough, winning the Championship Player of the Year for the 2014–15 season.

Bamford then had further loans at Premier League clubs Crystal Palace, Norwich City and Burnley, but saw limited playing time.

On 1 July, Bamford rejoined MK Dons on loan until 5 January 2014.

Bamford scored 14 league goals in 23 appearances for MK Dons during this six-month period, and thus was the subject of speculation that he would be sent on loan to a club at a higher level.

On 31 December, Karl Robinson confirmed that Bamford would not be returning to MK Dons after his loan deal expired.

His new club was later announced as Derby County.

He made his last appearance for Milton Keynes on 4 January 2014, where he scored his 17th goal of the season in the closing stages of a 3–3 draw against the holders Wigan Athletic in the third round of the FA Cup.

On 3 January 2014, Derby County confirmed the signing of Bamford on a loan until the end of the season.

Bamford made his debut for Derby as a substitute on 10 January, in a 4–1 away defeat to Leicester City.

On 21 July 2015, Bamford signed a new three-year contract with Chelsea before being loaned out to Crystal Palace for the upcoming season.

After five years at the club without making a first-team appearance, Bamford left Chelsea and returned to Middlesbrough for a fee in the region of £5.5 million in January 2017.

He subsequently joined Leeds United in July 2018 for a fee possibly rising to £10 million, and helped the club win the Championship title during the 2019–20 season and gain promotion to the Premier League.

Bamford was capped by the Republic of Ireland at under-18 level before changing allegiances to England.

He has represented England from under-18 to senior level, making his senior debut in September 2021.

Bamford was born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, and raised in the small, nearby village of Norwell, Nottinghamshire.

He joined Nottingham Forest's academy as an eight-year-old after playing junior football for Muskham Cougars.

He attended the independent fee-paying Nottingham High School, where due to the lack of a school football team, he played rugby union as a full-back, until the end of Year 10.

Bamford ended up with five A*s, three As and two Bs in his GCSEs.

He studied French, History, Biology and General Studies at A-Level and attained 3 Bs and a C. Bamford was offered a place at Harvard University and on the Harvard Men's Soccer team, but he rejected the offer to continue his career in England.

Described by the Yorkshire Evening Post in 2018 as "not your typical footballer", he plays the piano, violin, guitar and saxophone, and is conversational in French, Spanish and German.

He has said that his more privileged upbringing has led him to be treated differently in a sport where most players are from the working class.