This summer, Mateo Joseph left Leeds United on loan. It was one of the more surprising moves in this transfer window after the player was part of the first team last season.
After breaking into the first team, the Spaniard was trusted with more minutes. He scored a few goals early in the campaign, but was then kept on the bench from January. Joseph went to the U21 Championships with Spain and gave a good account of himself, but made it known that he would discuss his future with Leeds.
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The forward then asked for a transfer, and failed to join pre-season training. He fell out with Daniel Farke before the club sorted out a loan deal to Mallorca. But Mateo Joseph is not the first young player to force his way out of Leeds due to playing time.
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Joe Gelhardt opens up on Leeds United exit
Credit: Imago
Joe Gelhardt also left in the middle of last season. After finding playing time hard to come by, he chose to join Hull City. The forward scored five league goals and helped the Tigers survive relegation. He rejoined the club this summer.
Gelhardt scored his first goal of the season this past weekend. He then spoke to Hull Live about the decision to rejoin the Tigers for this campaign:
“I’m buzzing (to be back),” Gelhardt said. “I wanted to come back here straight away as soon as the season ended. With how much I enjoyed it here last year, it was a no-brainer for me, and I told my agent from the get-go that I wanted to come back here.”
“I think I had a few (offers), but as soon as my agent brought them up, I honestly just said no, I just want Hull again, so just try your best to make that happen, and he did so, to his credit.”
“I heard the interest was there, my agent told me, and I’d spoken to the lads about the new manager, and they spoke very highly of him, so yeah, it was still a no-brainer for me to come here,” Gelhardt continued. “I watched a few of the pre-season games and there were good results. I like the way they played against Sunderland, who are Premier League opposition now. I still knew it was just Hull.”
Gelhardt made the right choice
In the end, the youngster made the right choice. At his age, playing time is what is needed for development. Gelhardt found himself out of Daniel Farke’s plans and has now chosen a good path for himself. Hopefully Leeds can benefit by selling him for a small profit in the future.
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