Will he stay or will he go? There are big question marks surrounding Patrick Bamford's long term future at Leeds United.

The experienced front man has emerged as a transfer target for Blackburn Rovers, who are looking to boost their own promotion prospects. "Patrick is a very good player, I played with him at Derby, a long time ago when he started out," admitted Blackburn Rovers head coach John Eustace.

The stats make grim reading for Bamford. He has started just 15 Championship matches since the Whites suffered relegation back to the second tier of English football in 2023. A number of injury problems have hampered Bamford and stopped him from making a more telling contribution. Manager Daniel Farke believes United could have secured automatic promotion last term had Bamford stayed fit for the run-in.

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As for this season? It just hasn't got started for Bamford, has it? Zero league starts. Zero goal involvements.

We have seen odd flashes of the old Bamford (he looked lively after coming on at Preston North End and should have scored in the final quarter of the contest). But it has been a stop-start season for the 31-year-old. He has continued to be hampered by niggles, only featuring 10 times as a substitute in the Whites' title push.

Some supporters have called for United to sell Bamford in this window. If only football was that simple! His salary demands will be out of reach for many Championship clubs.

Despite Bamford's ongoing injury problems, he must stay put. There is no way the Whites can afford to let Bamford go unless a direct replacement comes in. Offloading Bamford would leave Farke with just Joel Piroe and Mateo Joseph to call upon as his senior striking options.

A busy period in terms of incomings is not on the cards, with Farke having spoken at length about the difficulty of trying to improve his squad in the current window. "I think [we will] be proactive a bit more with the recruitment, the scouting, with our network to check what is possible," he told the media last week. "If right now in January there is a player who makes us better in a special position I would never say no.

“In January the experience is if a player is available there's a special situation. Either overpriced - we want to work sustainable - or coming from a long-term injury."

It could be the start of February before we next see Bamford in action. Unless something extraordinary happens between now and deadline-day, it should be in United colours.