Sheffield United's Patrick Bamford spotted training with QPR star ahead of 2026/27 season | OneFootball

The forward has been putting in the hard yards this summer.

Sheffield United announced the departures of several of their experienced players upon the expiration of their contracts, but Patrick Bamford was not one of them.

Danny Ings, Jairo Riedewald, Ben Mee and Tom Davies were among those men as the Blades offloaded some of their higher earners to help them bring in more reinforcements this summer.

Unlike the aforementioned quartet, Bamford made a stellar impact at Bramall Lane, scoring 12 times after signing a short-term contract in South Yorkshire and has since signed an extension for a further year.

The 32-year-old has a big season ahead of him if he is to guide Chris Wilder's side to promotion, and he has been pictured training alongside a QPR star.

Patrick Bamford and Ronnie Edwards training ahead of Championship campaign

While those not playing at the World Cup could be enjoying their holidays ahead of pre-season, some are putting in the extra work to get a head start before the real training kicks in.

Bamford, who has received one England cap in his career, knows that if he is to lead the line for Sheffield United next season and extend his career at Bramall Lane even further, then he must build on his superb form from last term.

Indeed, the striker shared images on his Instagram account of himself training with 292 Performance, who support athletes in maintaining their professional levels.

Intriguingly, Bamford is pictured running alongside QPR centre-back Ronnie Edwards, who joined the Hoops from Southampton during the winter window for an undisclosed fee.

Edwards' contract length at Loftus Road is unknown, but he is primed for a key campaign in West London after nailing down a starting berth and wearing the captain's armband in Jimmy Dunne's absence at the back end of the season.

What are Sheffield United and QPR's expectations next season?

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Sheffield United and QPR are certainly in the same bracket when it comes to expectations next term, as both need to vastly improve on their bottom-half finishes.

Both know that a top eight finish will earn a Championship play-off place next season, so while the division will be stacked full of sides vying for just three promotion spots, there is a one in three chance of reaching the lottery.

To achieve their expectations, though, the pair will also understand that they need to improve their squads to mount a serious challenge, but the Blades are better placed to do so considering how their stars underperformed last term.

Anything other than a play-off place would be deemed unacceptable for Wilder's men, while if the R's were in and around the top eight, then that would be viewed as an encouraging improvement.

Whatever happens, it promises to be a tough Championship campaign with Wolves, West Ham and Burnley