Leeds United have confirmed that they are set to be without Patrick Bamford for the next four months.
It was little surprise that when Leeds made contact with Carpi during the last January transfer window over striker Jerry Mbakogu, the interest prompted plenty of groans from the Elland Road faithful.
The shine coming out of Victor Orta’s first summer as director of football faded quickly and the Leeds hierarchy faced a lot of criticism for signing a large number of players who arrived without Championship experience and often did not appear to be good enough to play a key role in a promotion push.
Mbakogu’s record in Italy’s second tier was modest, so it appeared troubling that Leeds may be about to spend £3 million to bring him to England. The Yorkshire Evening Post reported that the Whites agreed an option in that January window that would allow them to sign the striker for that seven-figure fee in the summer.
Ultimately, Leeds decided against signing Mbakogu and added Patrick Bamford to their striker ranks. Their start under Marcelo Bielsa provides no indication that they made the wrong call, with Kemar Roofe enjoying his best run for the club since arriving in 2016.
But given the latest news concerning Bamford’s fitness, Leeds would perhaps be making a mistake if they did not reconsider their stance on Mbakogu immediately.
Leeds have announced on their official website that Bamford will miss the next four months due to a knee injury sustained during the under-23s’ most recent clash. It is a huge blow and will put a lot of pressure on Roofe.
Bielsa does not need to change his starting lineup, but Bamford has frequently come on in the latter stages of games so not having him until January is a real setback, especially when you consider the other options available to Bielsa.
Leeds cannot target strikers attached to other clubs, but Mbakogu has since been released by Carpi so would be able to join another club before the next window.
It is not an ideal situation and Leeds should probably not expect miracles if they do decide to sign Mbakogu, but having an experienced striker in the ranks to give Roofe a bit of cover may not be a terrible idea.
And as he would be available on a free transfer, a lot of the risk attached to the initial talks has been removed. It is a situation that Leeds would have wanted to avoid, but perhaps signing Mbakogu may be the best way for the Whites to limit the damage.
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