Leeds United title-winner showcases early Premier League preparations as 17-goal repeat eyed

Patrick Bamford appears to be wasting little time in gearing up for next season as the Leeds United striker hopes for a repeat of his previous return to the Premier League.

Bamford endured another frustrating campaign at Elland Road as a raft of injury issues kept him from playing regularly during Leeds’ second Championship title win in five years. The 31-year-old was effectively third-choice striker under Daniel Farke and failed to score all season, albeit he played an important supporting role during that crucial run-in.

A pre-season injury last summer had Bamford on the back foot before competitive football had even started and a hamstring issue in August proved the precursor to another year spent mostly on the sidelines. But he appears keen on kicking off the 2025/26 campaign on much stronger foundations.

Bamford posted a video on his official Instagram account which shows the Leeds striker going through a series of strength and conditioning drills, which from the presence of a certain sign looks to have taken place at Leeds Beckett University’s Headingley campus. The experienced frontman is also snapped going through some speed work in an attempt to maintain the match sharpness that saw him finish last season with plenty of fight.

Summer training videos are common across the social media pages of professional footballers but Bamford appears to have been the first to showcase his off-season work. A number of his Leeds teammates have been snapped away on holiday - many in Japan - and will also no doubt be keeping themselves in shape ahead of the more intense pre-season.

Will Patrick Bamford be playing for Leeds United in the Premier League?

But Bamford, who turns 32 in September and has just one year left on his Whites contract, may feel like he has a point to prove next season. He was Leeds’ first-choice striker five years ago and scored 16 goals to help Marcelo Bielsa’s side win the Championship title, with the striker going on to enjoy his most productive ever campaign in the top-flight.

The former Middlesbrough man famously quoted a social media post questioning his Premier League suitability before netting 17 goals as the Whites finished ninth, enough to earn him a first and only England cap. And speaking after Championship title win number two, he suggested the aim is to emulate that impressive feat next season.

“I think that obviously last time round it was so long since Leeds had been in the Premier League and everyone was desperate to keep us there for as long as possible,” Bamford told CBS Sports Golazo earlier this month. "I think now, especially with the ownership and the 49ers and the way they have kind of set things up, I think that they are giving it a little bit more stability this time around which obviously only bodes well for the club itself

“But also on a personal note I am excited to be back playing there. I feel like almost playing in the Premier League suits me a little bit more and obviously last time around I did pretty well when I was there so I am hoping to kind of emulate that and try and do the same again."

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