Eddie Nketiah call-up could be bad news for Leeds’ Patrick Bamford

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Eddie Nketiah and Patrick Bamford are battling it out for the chance to lead the line for Leeds United.

With old problems coming to the fore in Leeds’ latest Championship game, the international break may provide Marcelo Bielsa with an opportunity to consider whether it may be time to make changes to ensure that the defeat to Swansea proves to be nothing more than a blip.

Leeds dominated for large parts of their game with the Swans, but their inability to take chances cost them as Wayne Routledge bagged the only goal of the contest for the visitors as the fixture went into stoppage-time.

Neither Patrick Bamford or Eddie Nketiah were able to find the back of the net during their respective spells on the pitch, so Bielsa may have something of a dilemma to contend with as he considers who should lead the line for the trip to Barnsley after the international break.

Bamford has the Championship goals, with four to his name already, while Nketiah boasts the frightening strike-rate, with three strikes in five appearances in all competitions, including a winner off the bench against Brentford earlier this month.

As things stand, it would not be a huge surprise if Bamford holds onto his place for the trip to Oakwell. Bielsa is yet to drop a player due to form this season, and the Englishman’s record remains incredibly impressive despite Saturday’s disappointment.

But Nketiah has a golden chance to force Bielsa into a change, and Bamford may be unable to do anything about it.

That is because the 20-year-old has been included in the England under-21 squad for their upcoming games against Turkey and Kosovo.

Bamford is, of course, going to be working closely with Bielsa, but Nketiah has a perfect opportunity to show what he can do on a big stage. If he comes back having scored one or two goals for England, there are likely to be plenty of Leeds fans imploring Bielsa to hand the youngster his first league start.

And with Leeds going into the first game back off the back of a defeat in which they did not score, one or two goals while he is away could help make Bielsa’s mind up if he is not currently sure whether it may be time to make a change and give Nketiah the chance to prove what he can really do.