Patrick Bamford: Alan Pardew says striker handled departure from Crystal Palace badly

Alan Pardew believes that Patrick Bamford handled his departure from Crystal Palace badly when he cut short his loan spell at the club.

Bamford was on a season-long deal from Chelsea at Selhurst Park but walked away at the turn of the year and described his spell at the club as “terrible”. Bamford, who is in the Norwich squad that face Palace on Saturday in a key match at the foot of the table, has since apologised for his behaviour.

“He probably could have handled that better,” Pardew said. “Me and Patrick spoke about it. He knows there were a couple of errors. But that happens with young players. He wants to be a success instantly. But sometimes you need patience. You can get injured, lose form or not get in the team. He’s a young player who was Championship Player of the Year [the previous season with Middlesbrough], scoring a lot of goals. Then he found himself not in a team.”

But Pardew was at pains to point out that any differences have now been resolved. “I had absolutely no problem with him, he’s a cracking lad. He will have a great career. Patrick has a great chance, he has natural finishing skills. I look forward to seeing him on Saturday but I hope I don’t see him score.”