Josuha Guilavogui has a pretty strong list of clubs on his CV and so the experience he brings to Leeds United is what really attracted Daniel Farke.
Guilavogui joined on a free transfer after Leeds‘ 2-1 win over Watford last month and has not taken long to get himself up to speed.
The 34-year-old has come off the bench in two of Leeds’ last three matches against Plymouth Argyle and Queens Park Rangers, with Isaac Schmidt even comparing him to Zinedine Zidane after his display against the latter.
Daniel Farke told Guilavogui that his main role at Leeds would be more so what he does off the pitch, but his impact on it after almost six months since his last appearance has been very impressive.
It has clearly not taken him too long to settle into the squad, with Pascal Struijk stating as such in an interview not long after he joined.
Guilavogui makes huge Mateo Joseph comparison at Leeds
One of Guilavogui’s many former clubs was Bundesliga side Wolfsburg, where he actually briefly crossed paths with Leeds icon Mateusz Klich.
Superstar striker Victor Osimhen was another player he played with on a handful of occasions at Wolfsburg, with the Nigerian international having gone onto become one of the world’s best strikers since.
Arsenal and Chelsea were among the sides linked with Osimhen after a stellar few seasons at Napoli, though it was Galatasaray he ended up joining on loan.
Osimhen was extremely young when he played alongside Guilavogui at Wolfsburg and the Frenchman now finds himself in a similar situation at Leeds with Mateo Joseph.
Joseph is enjoying his first full season of regular senior football at Leeds but a return of just two goals has left him feeling a little frustrated.
Speaking in an interview with Leeds Live, Guilavogui shared some of the advice he has been giving Joseph behind-the-scenes, using his time with Osimhen as an example.
He said: “I spoke also with Mateo Joseph and, for me, he looks a little bit like Aubameyang, but the way he is, I was speaking with him about Victor Osimhen. I played with him when I was in Wolfsburg.
“I told him ‘Mateo, I know now it’s hard, you start[ed] as our striker and now you are coming in the bench, but you had already three chances and if you scored the three chances, maybe you will start the other game or maybe even this winter someone can come and say we want to buy you for £20m. I hope you will stay!’”
Guilavogui predicts Leeds captaincy for Joseph
There aren’t many strikers who tend to go onto wear the captain’s armband but Guilavogui is of the firm belief Joseph can one day do so.
The former France international says it is a trait he has spotted in Joseph during training, something which he hasn’t seen on too many occasions.
He said: “It’s just to tell him he’s charismatic. He’s really charismatic and even during training he is like, you have just a few strikers you can see they can be captain.
“Mateo, in his career, could be a captain because when he’s working for the team, when he is fighting for the team, he gives you this feeling ‘I will work even harder because this one is working as an example.’ I’m sure he will have a great career.
“He has this passion and I can see. I saw that in Victor Osimhen and look at what he is doing. I really hope Mateo can make it. He has great qualities. He’s very good one against one, good in front of the goal and, like I told you, he has this aura, this charisma he can achieve a lot.”
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