Leeds United forward Wilfried Gnonto recently signed a contract extension through 2028, and it looks like he might not be the only one getting a new deal from the club.
Patrick Bamford’s contract with The Whites expires in 2026, so after this 2024-25 season, the 31-year-old would have one year left on his current deal. As a result, Leeds will have to decide whether to extend the veteran or not, and one expert believes an extension is coming soon.
Bamford has been at Elland Road since 2018, making 190 appearances across all competitions for Leeds, scoring 60 goals and recording 22 assists. While extending the forward is a priority for the club, they also want to have the upper hand in negotiating talks.
Patrick Bamford to stay at Leeds?
Journalist Ben Jacobs recently spoke with Give Me Sport and noted that Bamford wants to remain with Leeds as the player enters the final years of his career.
“I think 49ers Enterprises may wait a little bit longer with one or two, to try and put themselves in a stronger negotiating position,” Jacobs told the outlet. “And therefore, we may not see a flurry of renewals, as per Willy Gnonto, in the next few days or weeks.
“Bamford, I’m told, is a priority, though, and he’s willing to extend and has never had an issue playing in the Championship compared to other options.
“He’s very loyal to Leeds, he doesn’t want to go anywhere at this stage. The consideration there will be whether he can stay fit and whether Leeds wish to offer a long-term contract, knowing that he’s had so many unfortunate problems with injuries.”
Leeds decided this summer to part ways with veteran defender Liam Cooper after ten years with the club. On Friday, a report surfaced that the 33-year-old has reached an agreement with Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia.
It will be interesting to see if Leeds takes this approach with another player who has been with the club through the ups and downs or perhaps the two sides find common ground and reach an extension. According to Capology, Bamford is currently the highest-paid player in the Leeds squad, earning £70,000 a week, so this is likely to change should he stay.
