Sheffield United star Patrick Bamford could be about to remind Coventry City of what they missed out on
Patrick Bamford will be hoping to continue his excellent start to his Sheffield United career against Coventry City, who were close to signing him earlier this season.
Had life worked out differently for Patrick Bamford he could have been lining up in Coventry City colours at Bramall Lane this evening.
Instead, he will walk out onto the S2 playing surface in Sheffield United colours with the ambition of scoring for a fourth Championship home game running.
The striker, who scored his eighth Championship goal since joining the Blades in November against cross-city rivals Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday, was close to joining Coventry earlier this season after being invited to train with them following his exit from Leeds United.
The 32-year-old, who has scored nine goals in all competitions since joining the Blades, left Elland Road at the end of August by mutual consent and started to train with the Sky Blues in October. Initially, it was understood he was merely training with the Sky Blues to maintain his fitness while searching for a new club.
However, it later transpired that Coventry were running the rule over signing Bamford on a free transfer to boost their attacking options. The Sky Blues, at that juncture, were flying in the Championship and scoring goals for fun, but it was still felt they would benefit from bringing in another established No.9.
Ultimately, Coventry owner Doug King, in the end, had a change of heart, meaning Bamford did not end up signing a deal to join the Sky Blues, whose striker options featured the likes of Ellis Simms, Haji Wright and Brandon Thomas-Asante.
Following conversations with Blades boss Chris Wilder, Bamford joined United in November, initially signing a deal until January, and he revealed how King had had a change of heart when it came to the prospect of offering him a contract at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
“Obviously, I’ve got a family to think about," Bamford said, speaking back in November. "Then the Coventry one came up.
"It was an interesting one and obviously I knew Frank (Lampard) from my time at Chelsea. So I went down and I thought either way, training with the team is better than training on my own.
Bamford looked poised to join Coventry for a time
“I’d obviously been working hard every day with the guy that I work with, but it’s not the same. Training with the team is a lot better. So I went down there and obviously everything was pretty much done.
“And then the owner decided that he didn’t want to do the deal, that the team was flying. Which they are. I have no hard feelings towards him whatsoever, it’s completely fine. I obviously spoke to Frank, he apologised and just said that he was happy to have me in there.
“It’s a shame that it didn’t go through, but I just said that I was really grateful for him letting me train and obviously get my fitness up. Which actually helped because then, when I came in here, it’s obviously made it a lot easier in terms of hitting the ground running.”
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Although Bamford has placed on record his thanks to Coventry for helping him during a period of uncertainty in his career, there will almost certainly be a part of him, deep down, that will want to show the Championship table-toppers what they could have had when they visit Bramall Lane.
The striker, who arrived in S2 with a respectable Championship record, has been nothing short of excellent since joining the Blades, scoring eight league goals in 16 appearances. His presence at the top end of the pitch has given United a more structured and sustainable way of playing as the season has unfolded for a magnitude of reasons.
As a striker, Bamford’s primary responsibility is, of course, to score goals - a duty he is successfully carrying out - but his all-round game is about so much more, and that has been reflected in his performances.
After Wilder, following his return to Bramall Lane in September, bemoaned the lack of a proper centre-forward in the squad, his decision to turn to Bamford via the free agent market has been fully justified.
However, it could have all worked out so differently for Bamford and the Blades had Coventry’s owner not changed his mind. Fortunately for United, he did.