Son Heung-min verdict underlines Patrick Bamford's unmatched value to Leeds United

Only Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-Min has sprinted more than Patrick Bamford off the ball this season, from attackers across 30 leagues worldwide, a new study has found. Work rate and pressing have often been cited as key strengths Bamford has brought to Leeds United teams since 2018 and this new data only underlines just how much the number nine puts in.

CIES Football Observatory, a FIFA-backed research group that specialises in statistical analysis of the sport, has ranked wingers and strikers across 30 elite leagues around the world on the defensive work they do. The study uses distance covered at high speed and the number of pressures exerted on opponents without physical or ball contact.

When it comes to the former, the South Korean was the only attacker to index higher than Bamford. Sam Greenwood, while playing for Middlesbrough, ranked fourth on the same index. The Leeds men posted higher numbers than Richarlison, Anthony Gordon and Cody Gakpo among the hundreds who did not even make the shortlist.

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In its explanation for the data, CIES said: “The index was calculated on a 100 basis from the average of the values recorded for the two variables taken into account, themselves projected on a 100 basis. Only footballers who played at least 1,200 domestic league minutes during the current season were included in the rankings.”

Bamford indexed at 69.9 for pressures exerted, which was not particularly noteworthy, but only Son (100) could beat his 96.2 rating for distance covered at high speed in the defensive phase. Greenwood marked 90.5, Richarlison was fifth with 89.9, Gordon ninth at 82.4, Gakpo was further down at 79.9 ahead of Miguel Almiron (78.2).

While the numbers can feel a little abstract, the bottom line is how impressively Bamford is marking up against other attackers at the top of the world game for grafting when their teams do not have the ball.