Leeds United have endured a rollercoaster of a year as they were relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season and are now flying in third in the Championship this term.
The Whites made some significant changes over the summer as they opted to remove sporting director Victor Orta from his post and eventually appointed Daniel Farke as their new head coach to work alongside interim football advisor Nick Hammond.
Orta left with the team on the verge of relegation as his transfer dealings and managerial appointments failed to keep the side away from the drop.
Orta’s most-expensive Leeds signings | |
|---|---|
Player | Fee (via Transfermarkt and Sky Sports) |
Georginio Rutter | £35.5m |
Brendan Aaronson | £28.4m |
Rodrigo | £25.9m |
Dan James | £25.1 |
Luis Sinisterra | £21.6m |
As you can see from the table above, the Spaniard could not complain about a lack of funds from the board as he was given plenty of money to spend on new signings.
The ex-Leeds chief made a number of questionable moves throughout his time at Elland Road and one decision that supporters may have questioned at the time was the sale of Kemar Roofe in 2020, as he has outscored Patrick Bamford since his exit from the Yorkshire-based side.
Roofe’s goal record for Leeds
He was brought in from Oxford United ahead of the 2016/17 Championship campaign after being crowned the League Two Player of the Season.
The Jamaica international did not enjoy a seamless transition to second tier football as his first season ended with a return of four goals and six assists in 42 league appearances in Yorkshire, along with zero goals and one assist in seven cup outings.
However, Roofe found his shooting boots during the 2017/18 season as he produced 11 goals and three assists in 36 league clashes for the Whites, along with three goals and two assists in three EFL Cup matches.
He followed that up with 15 goals and two assists in 33 games throughout the 2018/19 campaign, which was Marcelo Bielsa’s first year in Yorkshire and one that ended in a play-off semi-final defeat to Derby County.
Roofe ended that term with three more goals than any of his teammates and six more strikes than fellow centre-forward Bamford (nine), who was brought in for a reported £10m package from Middlesbrough in the summer of 2018.
However, the English-born marksman put the club in a difficult position at the end of that season as contract talks stalled and he was heading into the final 12 months of his deal at Elland Road.
Leeds reportedly offered him a ‘lucrative’ extension but it was not enough to tempt him to commit his long-term future to the Yorkshire-based side, which left Orta with a decision to make as there was a risk that the gem would depart on a free transfer at the end of the following campaign.
This led to a reported £7m transfer to Belgian side Anderlecht, who were managed by Vincent Kompany at the time, in the summer of 2019, which left Bamford as the first-choice number nine for the Whites.
Bamford’s goal record for Leeds since 2019
After Roofe’s big-money exit, the former Chelsea academy graduate stepped into the spotlight and caught the eye with impressive performances throughout the 2019/20 campaign.
Bamford racked up 16 goals and four assists in 45 Championship appearances across the season for Bielsa’s side as they won the league title and secured promotion to the Premier League.
The England international followed that up with an outstanding top-flight campaign with Leeds. He produced an eye-catching 17 goals and eight assists in 38 league games to help the club to avoid an instant drop back down to the second tier.
None of his teammates managed more than eight Premier League goals that season as the former Middlesbrough ace was Bielsa’s main goal threat at the top end of the pitch, with a consistent stream of strikes at that level.
However, Bamford went on to miss 40 competitive matches through foot, groin, and hamstring injuries over the course of the following two seasons.
This affected his output in front of goal as the 30-year-old forward only scored six goals and provided four assists across 37 Premier League matches, along with two goals and two assists in three FA Cup outings.
In total, Bamford, who has not scored in eight matches this term, has found the back of the net 41 times since Roofe’s move to Anderlecht at the start of the 2019/20 campaign.
Roofe’s goal record since leaving Leeds
The former Oxford United star only spent one season in Belgium and produced seven goals and three assists in 16 outings for Kompany’s side.
This earned him a transfer to Scottish giants Glasgow Rangers in 2020 and he enjoyed a phenomenal debut year with Steven Gerrard’s side as they won the Premiership title.
Roofe, who was once described as a “Duracell bunny” by Gerrard, played a significant role in their success with a fantastic return of 14 goals and four assists in 24 league outings, alongside four goals in the domestic and European cup competitions.
The talented marksman then fired in 16 goals and assisted two in 36 appearances in all competitions for the Light Blues throughout the 2021/22 campaign.
Much like Bamford, though, Roofe has struggled with injuries in recent years as he has missed a staggering 70 competitive matches through fitness problems since the start of the 2021/22 season.
His injury woes have restricted him to 16 appearances since the summer of 2022, in which time the centre-forward has scored three goals and provided one assist.
In total, Roofe has scored 44 goals and assisted ten for Anderlecht and Rangers since his £7m exit from Leeds in 2020, which is three more goals than Bamford has managed during the same period for Leeds.
However, it would be harsh to say that it was a massive blunder by Orta to sell the 5 foot 10 ace as Bamford did play a crucial role at Championship and Premier League level in the two seasons after his former teammate’s exit.
They have also both had significant injury problems and struggled for goals of late, which does not suggest that Leeds would be much better off right now if they had kept Roofe and decided to cash in on the Englishman instead.
