Leeds United latest: “Terrible” Patrick Bamford, early transfer blow, Gus Poyet weighs in on recent setback | OneFootball

Leeds United are third in the Championship heading into a clash with Middlesbrough next week - the first of their three remaining games this season.

Daniel Farke's side had been the form team in the division in 2024 up until the international break, although they were defeated for the first time at home in the league last time out against Blackburn Rovers, at a critical point in the campaign.

The Whites entered this season among the early favourites for promotion under his management and are in the mix again as they fight it out with Leicester City and Ipswich Town for two automatic promotion places.

However, they are in good hands, as the former Norwich City boss is a two-time Championship winner, in spite of recent form going badly wrong. Leeds have taken five points from the last 15 available in their pursuit of the Premier League.

Farke himself is aiming for a third promotion in as many years from the second tier, but the race for promotion is into its final stages, with the run-in heating up and just a matter of weeks left to complete the season.

Leeds' final games are Middlesbrough (A), QPR (A), and Southampton (H). However, in the meantime, with those games looming ever closer, here we have taken a look at some of the latest news and biggest headlines coming out of Elland Road.

Frank McAvennie's Patrick Bamford verdict

Frank McAvennie has criticised Patrick Bamford as the Leeds striker continues to struggle for Farke in the Championship, after failing to register a single goal contribution during his last six games.

Naturally, fans are getting frustrated, and pundit McAvennie echoed those concerns, as he told Football Insider that Bamford should be doing much more right now.

“I didn’t see that defeat coming (against Blackburn). I thought Leeds would kick on. Bamford looked awful. I watched him and he was just strolling about – he looked terrible. I don’t like seeing strikers strolling about like that.

“He missed a few big chances in the game and I was thinking that if his mind was on the game, he wouldn’t have missed them. He’s got to get his act together because he’s the focal point for Leeds at the moment. There’s a lot of good players and they’re creating chances for him.

“Bamford needs to start leading the line and start holding up the ball. He was losing the ball a lot and not fighting hard enough to win it back – that was the biggest problem.”

Genoa have triggered a clause to sign Koni De Winter on a permanent deal from fellow Italian side Juventus, according to Fabrizio Romano.

A fee of €8 million was agreed between the two teams when the initial loan deal was struck - and this permanent option is set to be triggered based after an appearance-based clause has been met.

joining his current loan team on a permanent basis.

Gus Poyet's Championship promotion verdict

With just a handful of games remaining in the regular season, the battle for automatic promotion is all set for a dramatic conclusion. That may not have been the case for Leeds had they made their dominance pay in recent matches, which Poyet believes will be a source of frustration for those at Elland Road.

Speaking to Football League World, Poyet said: "They have missed chances to take the lead and push on.