Patrick Bamford has left Chelsea to join Burnley on a season-long loan it has been confirmed.
Chelsea made a habit of signing young talent in the past and Bamford was brought in during this period. Signed for £1.5 million from Nottingham Forest in 2012, the striker had only played two first-team games at the time. Now 22-years-old, the forward is yet to play a first-team game for Chelsea since his decision to swap the City Ground for Stamford Bridge.
For the 2012-2013 season Bamford played for Milton Keynes Dons on loan, notching up eighteen goals in thirty-seven appearances. The following year he made twenty-one appearances for Derby County and scored eight goals. In 2014-2015 he lined up for Middlesbrough and was named the Championship Player of the Year as he went on to score seventeen goals in thirty-nine appearances.
Bamford spent the first part of the 2015-2016 season on loan at Crystal Palace, making six appearances, before moving to Norwich City for the second-half of the campaign. He appeared seven times for the Canaries and failed to register a single league goal with either team.
A graduate of Nottingham Forest’s Academy, Bamford is Burnley’s sixth major signing of the summer. They had already brought in Johann Berg Gudmundsson, Robbie Leitch, Jamie Thomas and Nick Pope when they signed Steven Defour for £8 million from Anderlecht two weeks ago. He will now hope he can resurrect his career with the Clarets under the tutelage of boss Sean Dyche, having been declared as surplus to requirements by Chelsea’s new head coach Antonio Conte.