Patrick Bamford

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Patrick Bamford
0Full Name	Patrick James Bamford
0Date of Birth	5 September 1993
0Place of Birth	Grantham, England
0Position	Forward
0Chelsea career	2012 - 2017
0Debut	n/a
0Games (goals)	n/a
0Other clubs	Nottingham Forest MK Dons (loan) Derby County (loan) Middlesbrough (loan) Crystal Palace (loan) Norwich City Burnley (loan)

Patrick Bamford (born 5 September 1993 in Grantham, Lincolnshire) is a forward who was on Chelsea's books from 2012 to 2017.

Contents 1 Before Chelsea 2 Chelsea career 3 International 4 Career Statistics

Before Chelsea

Born in Grantham, Bamford joined the Nottingham Forest youth set up at the age of 8. He attended Nottingham High School for Boys, where due to the lack of a school football team he played Rugby Union. [1] After impressing in the reserves, Forest manager Steve Cotterill promoted the youngster to train with the first team for the 2011-12 season. Bamford was an unused substitute for a League Cup tie against Newcastle United on 21 September 2011 [2], having turned 18 just over two weeks earlier. He made his debut on 31 December 2011, coming on as a substitute in a home loss against Cardiff City, [3] and made another substitute appearance for the first team two days later. In January 2012 Bamford scored five goals and set up a further three in a 9-1 demolition of Wigan Athletic in the FA Youth Cup. He then scored four goals in a 5-1 win over Southampton in the same competition the following week, generating interest from Chelsea. With his contract due to expire in the summer, and having rejected two offers from Forest, the club allowed the young forward to pursue a move to London.

Chelsea career

Bamford signed for Chelsea on 31 January 2012, for a fee of £1.5 million. [4] He settled quickly in the reserve team and finished the season with a very impressive record of six goals in eight appearances in a blue shirt, mostly from the right wing.

His good form continued into the 2012-13 season, and after going away on the first team pre-season tour of the United States, he returned to Under-21 football with a bang, racking up plentiful goals and assists in the first half of the season.

In November 2012, he joined Milton Keynes Dons on an initial six-week loan and began his stay at the club with two assists on his debut. Injuries curtailed consistent involvement thereafter but his stay was renewed twice, eventually keeping him at StadiumMK until the end of the season. He finished with four goals in fourteen appearances and earned high praise from manager Karl Robinson.

In July 2013 it was announced that he would return for another loan at the club, initially set to stay until the first week of January 2014. He scored fifteen goals before Christmas and marked himself out as one of the best young talents in the football league, in turn drawing attention from clubs playing at higher levels. With his stay at MK expiring, he duly earned a move to the Championship, joining Derby County on January 3rd on a deal until the end of the season. He handled the step up well, scoring early and often for the promotion-chasing Rams despite not always starting and rarely featuring in his preferred role as a striker. Although their season ended in 90th minute playoff final heartbreak, Bamford contributed eight goals to the cause.

In late August 2014 he joined Middlesbrough on loan and went on to have a spectacular season. His 19 goals fired Boro into promotion contention but they ultimately fell just short, losing to Norwich in the playoff final; a second consecutive Wembley heartbreak for Patrick himself. He was named as Championship Player of the Season for his efforts.

On July 21st 2015 it was announced that Patrick would join Crystal Palace on loan for the 2015-16 season but the move proved disastrous as he was unable to earn a regular place in Alan Pardew's team. A mid-season switch to Norwich City failed to change things for the better as he encountered similar problems at Carrow Road and finished the campaign without scoring a single goal. A similar story at Burnley in the first half of 16-17 led to his eventual departure in January of that season, with Middlesbrough securing his permanent signature for an initial fee of around £6m, with the potential for that to rise to £10m.

International

Bamford represented both the Republic of Ireland and England at Under-18 level. English-born, Bamford also qualifies for Ireland via the parentage rule, and appeared at a 2010 friendly tournament for the Republic. However, later that year he switched to England U-18s and since then has continued to represent the country of his birth. [5] He scored his first goal for England at Under-19 level against the Czech Republic in February 2012, and was named in a provisional party for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in 2013 before failing to make the final cut.

In November 2013 he made his England Under-21 debut against San Marino in a 9-0 win at Shrewsbury's Greenhous Meadow.

He remains eligible for both countries at senior level.

Career Statistics

Youth, Reserve and Under-21 Football

Season	Under-18		European		Under-21		Total
	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
2011-12	1	1	-	-	7	5	8	6
2012-13	0	0	3	1	11	4	14	5
2013-14	0	0	-	-	0	0	0	0
2014-15	0	0	-	-	1	0	1	0
Total	1	1	3	1	19	9	23	11

Senior Club Football

Season	Club	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
2012-13	Milton Keynes Dons (loan)	14	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	4
2013-14	Milton Keynes Dons (loan)	21	14	2	0	2	1	0	0	2	1	27	16
2013-14	Derby County (loan)	23	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	23	8
2014-15	Middlesbrough (loan)	40	17	3	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	44	19
2015-16	Crystal Palace (loan)	6	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
2015-16	Norwich City (loan)	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
2016-17	Burnley (loan)	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
Total		117	43	5	1	6	2	0	0	2	1	130	47

(Statistics accurate as of the end of the end of Bamford's Chelsea career)