Leeds United man takes swipe at Sheffield United defender amid 'worst tackle he's ever seen' claim

Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford has described Mason Holgate's tackle on Kaoru Mitoma as 'the tackle he has ever seen'. The Sheffield United defender was shown a straight red card for the challenge in the 13th minute of the Blades' 5-0 home defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion back in February.

Holgate appeared to catch Mitoma on the thigh and he hasn't featured for the club since with Saturday's draw at Bournemouth being the last of his three-game suspension. As such, he will be eligible to represent Chris Wilder's side once more when the Blades travel to Fulham on the other side of the international break.

Bamford, though, has brought the tackle up once more on his BBC podcast My Mate's A Footballer, which also features comedian Joe Wilkinson, amid a discussion about play-acting in the game.

“Did you see, talking about how players react, some players were making out that Mitoma made a meal of that tackle," he said. “Honestly, it’s the worst tackle I think I’ve ever seen. It was horrific.

“Mate, I think I remember at the time, obviously it’s hard when you’re in the game and you just see it, but Sheffield (United) players were saying ‘it’s not that bad, it’s not that bad’.

“There was a guy who did an interview after who was like ‘it’s definitely not a red card from what I saw’. Mate, when you look back at it on the video, that’s one of the worst tackles ever.”

Holgate only joined the Blades in the January transfer window having spent the first half of the season on loan with Championship side Southampton. The red card came on just his third league outing for the club but he'll be keen to make amends as the Blades continue their battle to avoid Premier League relegation with 10 games remaining.