Has the Time Come for Chelsea to Sell Patrick Bamford?
Patrick Bamford finds himself at a crossroads.
The Chelsea striker will be 23 in September, which means this summer has a now-or-never feel to it where his future is concerned. A Chelsea player for four years, he's yet to make an appearance for the club. And after some promising loan spells, this season has proved a complete disaster.
A frustrating six months this term with Crystal Palace—Bamford played just nine times for Alan Pardew's side—killed the momentum created from a successful year with Middlesbrough. He's now on loan with a struggling Norwich City side, but Bamford's yet to score in six appearances.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
Indeed, he last hit the back of the net in a competitive fixture exactly a year ago on April 14, against Wolverhampton Wanderers to earn Boro a 2-1 victory. It's a record any striker could do without, especially one with hopes of establishing himself with one of the Premier League's elite clubs.
Bamford's at the stage when age dictates he can't be considered a prospect for the future. He needs to start producing, otherwise he never will.
After an underwhelming campaign of their own, it's difficult to imagine new boss Antonio Conte turning to Bamford to help solve Chelsea's slump. He's unknown, unproven and the manager will want to build on something much more solid than that.
The smart money is on Chelsea cashing in on the striker to allow them to spend elsewhere in a squad that needs investment.
However, Chelsea need only look to Nemanja Matic to understand why they shouldn't.
Sold to Benfica as part of the deal that brought David Luiz to the club in January 2011 at a similar age to Bamford now, Matic's transfer proved an error that would cost Chelsea £21 million when they re-signed him three years later.
Much like Bamford, Matic was never given a fair crack at Chelsea, yet he returned to become a key player with the Blues in their title-winning campaign last season. Despite a poor performance this term, he remains vital to the club moving forward.
That's the point with Bamford. It's the not knowing that is damaging his prospects in west London, and the fact he remains on the club's books more than qualifies him to be in a position for Chelsea to at least try to find out.
When Matic returned, he arrived back at Stamford Bridge at a time when the club was desperate to fill a void in midfield. Jose Mourinho needed an imposing defensive midfielder, and Matic was the perfect candidate.
It has worked, and the question being asked then and since is why Chelsea ever allowed him to leave in the first place. When we consider some of the talent scattered across Europe who used to call Stamford Bridge home, it's a subject often returned to.
Chelsea already have a world-class frontman in Diego Costa, but outside of him, they are thin on bodies. Radamel Falcao will return to Monaco this summer when his loan expires. Likewise Alexandre Pato to Corinthians.
That leaves the injury-prone Loic Remy and youthful Bertrand Traore. Of the pair, Traore is capable of playing wide or through the middle, meaning Chelsea still lack an out-and-out striker to support Costa.
The suggestion is Conte will look to sign another big name to either partner Costa or at least challenge him. Even so, Chelsea need to add reinforcements to give them more cutting edge in the final third.
Those back-up slots are ideal for unproven players to make their mark. Bamford's 2015/16 has shown he's not ready to challenge Costa—far from it—yet his record on loan has hinted at his capabilities in the long term.
This year aside, we've witnessed a player with the goalscoring instinct that has carved out many careers before him. He's sharp in front of the net, and when his confidence is up, he is a handful for defences.
Chelsea must ask themselves why they need to find out whether Bamford can do it at the highest level with another club. As Falcao has shown this season, Chelsea could do much worse than taking a risk on a youngster.
With the Grantham-born attacker, Chelsea still have everything to gain. If he fails in the coming year, the club would have it's answer and he can move on. What if he proves himself, though? What if Bamford continues the Premier League's recent trend of unfancied players surprising the masses?
Chelsea have some of the finest coaches in the Premier League working at the club. We've seen them dominate youth football by nurturing the talents they have coming through, making them better players.
They did it with Matic five years ago, and it's Benfica who benefited substantially from that. It's about time Chelsea put faith in those same coaches to make more up-and-coming players realise their potential. It might just save them money and, more importantly, create a foundation in the club's rebuilding.
They could start that with Bamford.
Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
