Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford on Gareth Southgate’s England radar

Gareth Southgate picks his England squad for two crucial Nations League games on Thursday with Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford in his thoughts.
Patrick Bamford: The Leeds United striker has moved up the England pecking order. (Picture: Bruce Rollinson)Patrick Bamford: The Leeds United striker has moved up the England pecking order. (Picture: Bruce Rollinson)
Patrick Bamford: The Leeds United striker has moved up the England pecking order. (Picture: Bruce Rollinson)

The 27-year-old moved up the pecking order yesterday after it was announced knee surgery will keep Danny Ings out for “four to six” weeks.

Ings has been in both this season’s squads having been one of the country’s in-form strikers for more than a year, but was forced off in the closing stages of Southampton’s 4-3 win over Aston Villa on Sunday, where he scored his sixth goal of the season. He returned to training yesterday, only to break down.

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How to replace Ings will be one of the main decisions facing Southgate. As an in-form English striker himself, Bamford will have to come into consideration for the friendly against the Republic of Ireland – who he is also eligible to play for – and the decisive Nations League matches against Belgium and Iceland.

England manager Gareth Southgate (Picture: PA)England manager Gareth Southgate (Picture: PA)
England manager Gareth Southgate (Picture: PA)

Whilst his club coach, former Argentina and Chile coach Marcelo Bielsa, has argued it is not his place to compare the options available to Southgate, television pundit Gary Neville believes Bamford must be “knocking on the door”.

“His work ethic, the way in which he leads the line, the way in which he pressurises and his out-of-possession work is unbelievable,” said the former England right-back and coach.

“It’s very early but you are not far away from being an England player.

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“If you work hard, you are 6ft 2in, you lead the line, you run in behind, you cause a nightmare for defenders and score goals you are knocking on the door.”

Even without his outstanding start to the season, captain Harry Kane was a guaranteed pick, and Sheffield-born Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored on his debut against Wales last month, a match Ings also netted in.

Newcastle United’s Callum Wilson is another possible alternative.

He has four caps and also scored on his debut, a friendly against the United States of America two years ago. Like Bamford and Kane, he has six Premier League goals this season, although three have come from the penalty spot.

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There were doubts before the season started about whether Bamford could score consistently in the Premier League, having managed only one goal in 27 previous appearances, but he believes the confidence of coach Marcelo Bielsa is the crucial difference that has allowed him to do so.

Bamford has retained his standing as Leeds’s first-choice centre-forward despite the club record signing of £27m Rodrigo, who will miss Saturday’s trip to Crystal Palace with coronavirus.

Manchester United’s Mason Greenwood is another attacking option for Southgate, having been left out of the last squad following a breach of Covid-19 protocols by him and Manchester City’s Phil Foden when the team played in Denmark in September.

Foden could be recalled but a lack of game-time at club level could count against Greenwood who, anyway, is used mainly out wide at this early stage of his development.

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Southgate has plenty of high-quality wide alternatives and the ability of one of them, Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling, to play centre-forward gives him the option to go with one fewer specialist for next three matches.

Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford is likely to be retained in the squad despite being “rested” by Everton at the weekend, but it will increase the pressure on his first-choice status.

England are third in their four-team Nations League group ahead of this month’s final matches but victory over Belgium, who host the Three Lions a week on Sunday, will see them leapfrog Roberto Martinez’s side.

The four League A winners qualify for the finals, which England reached in the inaugural tournament, offering a fall-back if they fail to qualify for the next World Cup by the usual method.

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