Former Leeds United striker Bobby Davison has expressed that Leeds United would not have won promotion to the Premier League without forward Patrick Bamford.

The ex-Middlesbrough man netted 16 goals in 45 appearances for the Whites this season, but despite that he was heavily criticised throughout for his lack of end product when gifted with chances.

However, Marcelo Bielsa stuck with the forward and allowed him to show supporters why he has continued belief in Bamford throughout his ongoing tenure at Elland Road.

Davison was in the squad that last got promoted to the top-flight, and he believes that Bamford's continuous work-rate is a key reason as to why this current Leeds side ran out Champions of the division.

Speaking to FourFourTwo, Davison said: "I’m a big fan of Bamford’s because of what he does for the team and I don’t think they would have got promotion if it wasn’t for the work rate that he put in up top.

"As a team player, in terms of his work rate, he’s been fantastic, but his Achilles heel is he probably needs five or six chances to get one goal."

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The Verdict

Bamford is a player that is always seemingly talked about and criticised by a large section of either pundits or supporters, so it's nice to see him praised by Davison for what he does well in games for Leeds.

He is brilliant at pressing and that's exactly what Bielsa wants to see from his forward, and he knows deep down that he should have scored more goals in the campaign but the job he does for the side is irreplaceable at times.

It'll be interesting to see whether the Whites choose to stick with him in the Premier League or whether they bring in a big name to replace him in order to survive.