‘The truth’… Leeds player responds when asked if he could ever seek a move away from Elland Road

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The pressure is on Daniel Farke this season to ensure Leeds United return to the Premier League at the second attempt.

Farke fell just short last season and though he was criticised for how Leeds fell away towards the end of the season, was backed as the right man straight away by the 49ers.

However, Farke will be handed no such leeway this term as Leeds know all to well the financial implications of a third successive season in the Championship.

Leeds sold over £100 million worth of talent in Georginio Rutter, Archie Gray and Crysencio Summerville in the summer, and more of their best players would again be at risk of leaving if Farke failed again.

The Whites have managed to rebuild the squad well after losing so much quality from their squad, both through signings and the trust of other young players.

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Mateo Joseph responds to Leeds exit question

One of the youngsters being given the opportunity to shine this season is Mateo Joseph, having been reduced to solely substitute appearances in the league in 2023/24.

The opening day draw against Portsmouth was actually his full league debut for Leeds, and the first of his eight Championship starts this season.

Despite only scoring one goal, Joseph is winning plenty of admirers, with Tony Dorigo lavishing him in praise recently.

But it’s not only at Elland Road where Joseph is impressing, but also his native homeland of Spain. He netted a first half hattrick for Spain U21s on his first start against Kazakhstan last week.

Joseph is already being targeted to spearhead Spain‘s 2026 World Cup side and when asked in an interview by OK Diario about whether he could ever look for a move to La Liga, he refused to rule it out, but insisted he is ‘very happy’ ay Leeds.

He said: “Spain as a country is incredible. For me the best in the world. And living here would always like to. The truth is that you never know the opportunities that are coming up in the world of soccer. But I am very happy to be in Leeds and with that goal of returning the club to the place where it deserves.”

• READ MORE: ‘Great player’ scores first ever goal for his country after Leeds made £25m bid to sign him on deadline day

Joseph eyeing Spain’s World Cup side

With five goals, Joseph played a key role in helping Spain U21s romp to qualification for next summer’s European Championships.

Clearly, however, the priority for any player in that squad will be forcing their way into the senior side, particularly with a World Cup on the horizon. Joseph is no different to that.

He said: “Well, yes. It’s a pretty demanding place to be Spain’s striker. Especially now, that there are the best strikers in the world. If I’m here in the U-21 it’s because they see that I have that projection of maybe one day I’ll be able to be there. That’s the first thing.

“And the second thing is that there is still a lot of work to be done. I have a lot of confidence in my qualities. And I do it because I have spent my whole life working and trying to improve.

“And being very self-demanding. And then, why not. It’s a dream that I see closer and closer. But there is still a long way to go. And I will fight it until the end because I have a lot of a race ahead of me. I won’t stop until I get it.”