BAMFORD: Do you agree that he could compete at Chelsea?

Patrick Bamford has done everything asked of him in the past three seasons. This term at Middlesborough on loan, Bamford has just won the Championship Player of the Year and now surely he must be part of Jose Mourinho's first team squad!

Bamford 21, spoke last night after winning the award for scoring 19 goals in 41 appearances so far in the Boro' title charge this season and was quick to re-affirm his desire to play for Chelsea.

He said:

“I want to play for Chelsea, I hope I do get that chance and I think I can compete.
A lot of people said I left Nottingham Forest for the wrong reasons, but that wasn’t true. I wanted to play for a top team like Chelsea.
However, after two years regularly playing out on loan, going back and sitting on the bench wouldn’t really help me.
So it’s down to those at the top at Chelsea to decide what will be the best for my career and what to do next year.”

His raw talent is obvious, he has scored plenty of goals wherever he has been asked to play ( 48 goals in 114 career appearances) and I am 100% certain he would do the same here at Chelsea if he was given the chance.

I look at us ahead of next season and we will have Diego Costa as our first choice striker with Loic Remy as the number two. Didier Drogba looks like leaving even if he decides to carry on for another season leaving the vacant third striker position - perfect for Bamford.

I also believe a very real possibility would be for Bamford to stay at Middlesborough if they were promoted to the Premier League to play there for another year with Aitor Karanka and for Chelsea to see how he develops given the exposure of Premier League football.

That appears to be a very realistic possibility but for me, I would stick him straight into the squad personally. Someone with an eye for goal like he has and with the record he has is a natural talent that needs to be nurtured and developed in the best possible way and that's with Jose Mourinho.

The youngster has just one year left of his current contract but there has already been reports of a new deal being offered to tie him down to Chelsea for the future so another loan for a season wouldn't be a problem.

What do you people think? Has he done enough to warrant a place in our first team squad or do you think he could stay at Middlesborough next season if they get promoted?