Darren Bent has revealed he sympathises with Leeds United's Patrick Bamford after people have questioned his ability to cope in the Premier League.

Even though the 26-year-old is trusted by Marcelo Bielsa and was the Whites top scorer as they won the Championship title, Bamford only managed 16 goals in the campaign - ten short of top scorer Aleksandr Mitrovic.

Considering the stylish way Leeds play, and the chances they create, that has prompted some to question whether Bamford is good enough, including former Whites chief David O'Leary.

And, Bamford took to TalkSPORT to explain his frustration at the way he has been spoken about and Bent told Football Insider that the striker came across well and he can understand his view.

"I think some of the criticism he’s got has been a bit unjustified but at the end of the day it is what it is.

"I reached out to him just saying do you want to come on and I got the feeling that he half wanted to talk, he wanted to get his point out there, he was sick and tired of hearing people talk about him that he wanted us to know what his thoughts were."

The verdict

There's no denying that Bamford could've been more prolific this season but there's a reason he played every week for Bielsa and that's because he works hard and links play superbly as well as chipping in with goals.

So, it's too simplistic to say he isn't good enough because he couldn't get 20 goals and that's why it's frustrating Bamford.

Ultimately though, the only way to shut his critics up will be by scoring and playing regularly in a Leeds side that competes well in the Premier League.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.