Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford says Aston Villa’s Tyrone Mings and Manchester City’s Jack Grealish are two of the “nicest guys” after admitting he thought meeting the pair would be awkward. Bamford has history with Villa having scored a hat-trick against them last season and also received a retrospective ban when Anwar El Ghazi was sent off in a Championship clash. Last year he was seen being hauled back to his feet by Mings amid a feeling the Leeds forward had gone to ground too easy. And Bamford felt that it would have led to a frosty reception when he joined the England squad for their recent World Cup qualifiers but was pleasantly surprised.
Patrick Bamford said: “Do you remember when we played Villa last year and there’s that picture of Tyrone Mings pulling me off the floor? Every time I’ve played against him and Jack Grealish at Villa, it’s always been a little bit spiky. I thought this is going to be awkward. But I’m not joking you, they’re two of the nicest guys. They were so friendly and so easy to get on with.”
Villa will renew their rivalry with Leeds at Christmas when they travel to Elland Road on December 28.