This summer saw a host of exits from Elland Road as Leeds United prepared their squad for the Premier League. Daniel Farke made it known to most players that they were not in his plans for this season.
The pre-season training camp in Germany was basically an indicator of where you stood in Leeds’ plans. Players that were left out had to remain in England, with some training and playing friendlies with the U21 side. Patrick Bamfor was the biggest omission from the squad. Daniel Farke later revealed he had a personal conversation with the striker before taking the decision.
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Bamford agreed to terminate his contract, leaving on a free deal. Later that summer, the likes of Joe Gelhardt, Mateo Joseph and Largie Ramazani were all shipped out on loan deals.
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Mateo Joseph assesses Leeds United playing time last season
Credit: Imago
Mateo Joseph went off to the U21 European Championships this summer. At the end, he revealed he would hold talks with Leeds over his place in the team. But he failed to make the trip to Germany to join the camp. Daniel Farke then considered him out of the plans for this season, and Leeds sought out a loan deal for him. Eventually, he joined Mallorca on a season-long loan.
Joseph has already featured in three league games, including two against Real Madrid and Barcelona. He is yet to score a goal. The Leeds loanee has recently spoken up about his goalscoring record last season, saying that critics have not judged him fairly:
“They’re different situations because of the 71 games I played for Leeds, I came off [the bench] in the last five minutes of 40 of them,” he said, speaking to Diario de Mallorca.
“In the end, people see the 71-game figure, but I’m sure I might have started fourteen or thirteen, and six goals is a good number.
“I know what happened and I have a clear conscience that I gave my all at every moment, and that’s the best thing that can happen to a person: to be calm and have that inner peace of mind that comes from having given everything and doing things well.
“The national team has shown what I’m capable of; at Leeds, when I’ve played and had the confidence, it’s shown what I’m capable of, and I’m eager to prove it here. And to be at my best.”
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