It seems inevitable that Mateo Joseph will come to a transfer crossroads this summer given his recent comments.
The Spaniard has spoken out about his desire for more game time than last season, with none of his 11 league starts coming in 2025. Just three goals across the whole campaign meant he tallied the same return as the previous season but having played in 13 more senior matches for Leeds United.
That coupled with the fact he lost his starting spot to Joel Piroe after the first few weeks of the season means it is feasible to argue he has regressed. Though, perhaps the better assessment is to say he did not fulfil the full potential he showed last year.
Joseph started no league games in the 2023/24 campaign yet began 11 last season. Having played in just 20 Championship fixtures two seasons ago, he played in 39 last term. That's progression.
Truthfully, his pre-season form and status as the starting striker at the beginning of the last campaign perhaps set expectations above where they ought to have been for a player with such little first-team experience. Glimpses of what could be have formed a facade over what level he actually currently is.
His second goal against Chelsea in the FA Cup 18 months ago was superb - his first was a good finish too but was handed to him on a plate by the defence. He produced a tidy finish against a rotated Valencia in pre-season, though this was not a competitive fixture.
Kudos must go to him for finding the net against Sheffield United but his other two in-season goals were against clubs who finished inside the bottom four - Hull City and Cardiff City. Including FA Cup ties, he failed to score in 38 other games last season including against League Two outfit Harrogate Town.
True, he was playing in a rotated side but top strikers make something happen regardless. Joseph is not that just yet and perhaps his stature is best encompassed by his form for Spain’s Under-21s.
He scored eight times in 13 matches for the team, including against Slovenia at this month’s age-group European Championships - though he did also miss a penalty against Romania. The common theme seems to be that Joseph does better against lower-strength opposition - his brace against Chelsea hints at his potential, but not his current sustained level.
Leeds need the finished product next season and Joseph, still young, is not that today. He is not going to get the game time he wants next term having slipped down the pecking order.
A loan exit would be ideal but spending limits mean that United might have to sell up in order to help bring a new marquee goal-getter. If there is a time to sell Joseph, it is now.
His goals-to-game ratio for Spain’s Under-21s has wooed onlookers on the continent, but his involvement with the youth team is set to come to an end. Joseph’s 22nd birthday in October will make him ineligible for the next major tournament cycle and thus the only next step is the senior national team.
That seems a bit of a way off presently, meaning his club form will be the barometer by which clubs judge him. Going off that alone, Joseph’s fee would be much lower than the £10m-plus bid tabled by Real Betis in the winter window. His international form bolsters his value.
Betis and Strasbourg are both admirers of the attacker and both can offer European football - and probably better chances of game time. Leeds are set to have their PSR position strengthened by any sale given Joseph arrived into the club’s academy set-up from Espanyol’s youth system in 2022.
But it seems now is the peak time to get a maximum return on Joseph, given the alternative would likely see the striker be subjected to minimal minutes and would thus his decrease his valuation.
As of last week, no formal bids had been tabled for Joseph, who is yet to speak with Leeds about his future given his international duties. If he is to leave, United ought to make sure they do not undersell him and add in some sort of clause, be it a sell-on fee or buy-back option.
Because there is a striker in there somewhere who has potential to grow into a goalscorer. But Leeds need to think in the short term and it might be a case of striking while the iron’s hot to get a good return on a player who is not yet ready for the Premier League.
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