How much Leeds United pay Patrick Bamford in wages - it is eye-watering if an EFL side want to sign him | OneFootball

Patrick Bamford was Leeds' highest-paid player last season

After seven seasons at the club, Patrick Bamford looks to be leaving Leeds United this summer, after Daniel Farke confirmed that the 31-year-old is no longer part of his Premier League plans.

After a 2024/25 campaign where Bamford was almost exclusively a backup when he was available, his only start came in Leeds' 3-0 Carabao Cup defeat against Middlesbrough.

It makes sense that the striker's future doesn't lie at Elland Road now that Leeds are back in the Premier League, but the question now lies as to where the one-time England international will play his football in the 2025/26 campaign.

If it's back in the EFL, a wage cut will definitely be required, as it may be a step too far for any Championship side to bring in the highest-paid player in last season's Leeds squad on a similar wage.

Patrick Bamford's current wage at Leeds United

Bamford's contract at Elland Road is set to expire at the end of the 2025/26 campaign. It will conclude a five-year deal, which he signed following his 17-goal, nine-assist, 2020/21 Premier League season as the Whites finished 9th in their first season back in the top flight after 16 years out.

The new deal would see him earn a whopping £70,000 per week, according to Capology's estimates, doubling his first contract at the club, which he signed in 2018.

A plethora of injuries limited him to just nine league appearances the following season, and he would never reach those heights again at Elland Road, meaning that Bamford's contract hasn't exactly represented his output in the four years since he signed the deal.

And, after Leeds' relegation in 2023, Bamford's contract was estimated to stay the same, meaning that the forward has been one of the highest-earning players in the Championship in the past two seasons.

EFL clubs will need to convince Patrick Bamford to take a pay cut this summer

If Bamford is to join an EFL club before the end of the current transfer window, he's likely not going to be the highest-earning player at his new side, which was the case at Leeds last season.

In fact, Capology estimated that only Middlesbrough loanee Kelechi Iheanacho earned more than Bamford per week last season, and his current contract would place him inside the top ten earners in the division this term, too.

Bamford did score on his last Championship start, but that came in April 2024. He was a big part of the Leeds side who went 15 second tier games unbeaten at the start of 2024, but since then has been a fringe player at Elland Road.

Solid appearances from the bench at the end of 2024/25 campaign will have fellow Championship sides feeling that he could do a job for them next season, but paying anywhere near £70,000 per week for a player who hasn't started in the second tier in over a year isn't just a risk - for many it's downright impossible.

So, if Bamford is to return to the EFL next season, it will most definitely be on a lot less money than his current Leeds contract is estimated to be.