Mateo Joseph Leeds United
Leeds United had a mini overhaul of their squad this summer in preparation for their return to the Premier League. Daniel Farke’s side spent £105 million on 10 new players as they looked to meet the English top flight head on with brute physicality.
Lucas Perri, Jaka Biol and Anton Stach were part of the group that came in with a huge stature of well over 6 foot. Leeds looking to make sure they are not bullied out of games or caught out on set-pieces on their return to Premier League football.
Most Read on The Leeds Press
On the other side of that, the club let a number of players leave. Among them was a loan move for Mateo Joseph who had struggled to impress at Elland Road despite once holding huge promise. Joseph was also loved by the fans, many feeling he was never given a true run in the team. That changed at the start of last season after an impressive pre-season, but he failed to take his chance and was soon displaced by Joel Piroe.
This summer, Joseph starred for Spain at the European U21 Championships, where he admitted that he would hold talks with the Whites about his future. But after his extended break, he refused to report for pre-season. Daniel Farke then wrote the youngster out of his plans, and Leeds found a loan deal with Mallorca for this season.
Since his move, no one at the club has really spoken about his absence even with the terrible performances of the new attackers signed in the summer. Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha have only registered 3 goals between them, with Leeds being linked to Ivan Toney in January.
Leeds United star Mateo Joseph hints at potential exit
Joseph had a rough start to life in La Liga, but found his feet a few weeks ago with a brace against Sevilla.
The forward has been getting the playing time and experience he complained about last season. On Thursday, the 22-year old spoke to Marca about his future at Elland Road.
“In the end, Mallorca did an exceptional job, both the sporting director and the manager,” said Joseph.
He continued: “They conveyed the confidence they had in me, and that convinced me from the very beginning.
“They knew me very well and had a lot of faith in me, and I want to repay that confidence,”
When asked about staying in Spain beyond his current loan spell, Joseph replied: “Yes, I’m very happy here. But, well, you never know.
“I’d say it doesn’t really depend on me right now, but we’ll see.”
The forward seems to keep on hammering that he deserved more after his start last season at Leeds. But the truth was that he fell off and was poor, that is why Daniel Farke did not trust him to play more games. He had the chance to stake his claim for a place in the team and fluffed it – Joseph continuing to reference that period will only rub fans the wrong way.
There is no future for Mateo Joseph at Leeds United
It is highly unlikely that Mateo Joseph is a Leeds United player next season. How he conducted himself this summer alone was a huge red flag for the club. When Wilfried Gnonto was seeking a move away, he did complain and refuse to train but in the end he apologised and smoothed things over with Farke and fought his way back into the team.
That is what Joseph should have done instead of outright missing pre-season. The forward is a valuable asset, and Leeds chiefs know that they can cash on him and make some decent money – just this summer he was wanted by Chelsea’s owners at Strasbourg. Ultimately Joseph’s time at Elland Road may be over, and he caused it himself.
Related Topics