Patrick Bamford has revealed how his Leeds United teammates reacted to his new haircut, claiming that several of them urged him to change his look.
The Whites’ number nine debuted a new bleach blonde hairstyle a few weeks ago, drawing criticism from fans and analysts alike, notably Sky Sports’ Andy Hinchcliffe, who called it “ludicrous” [Sky Sports, 23 December].
While not everyone likes the England international’s new look, he said that the majority of his teammates at Elland Road approved of the dye job and even pushed him to make the change.
“Within the last six months, I’ve gone from having long floppy hair to then going to a bit of a buzzcut, to now going to a bit of a platinum buzzcut,” he stated on the My Mate’s A Footballer podcast (4 January, 1:50).
“A lot of the boys knew that I was going to do it and they were saying just do it, it will look good.”
“I find it surprising they were supportive,” said Joe Wilkinson, “because I thought they would all be going ‘you tart’.”
Back in shape
Whatever was in Bamford’s hair dye produced the desired effect for the Leeds United center-forward. He scored in his first start with his new haircut against Birmingham City, after failing to find the in the first half of the Championship season.
It remains to be seen whether the two are related, but the 30-year-old looked back to his best during the match against Birmingham, and Daniel Farke will be hoping that he can maintain this fine form for the rest of the season.
This season, the Whites have a number of high-quality attacking players in their ranks at Elland Road, which has restricted Bamford to a supporting position. However, if he continues to score vital goals, he will be able to claw his way back into contention.
Hopefully, the goalscoring touch will last long after the bleached hair grows out, since the 30-year-old’s regular contributions in the final third this season will significantly increase Leeds’ prospects of regaining promotion to the Premier League.
