Mateo Joseph appears to be one of the youngsters at Leeds United Josuha Guilavogui has taken under his wing since joining last month.
One of the biggest reasons Daniel Farke opted for Guilavogui as his free agent transfer following injuries to Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev, was his experience.
Guilavogui revealed in his first interview as a Leeds player that Farke told him his off-field role would be just as important as what he does on it.
Pascal Struijk has already hailed Guilavogui as a ‘top guy‘ just a matter of days after he joined, and so his presence will have only grown in the weeks that have followed since.
His performances as a substitute certainly haven’t been bad either, with his cameo against Queens Park Rangers key to helping Leeds get over the line with a 2-0 win.
Guilavogui already a leader at Leeds amid Joseph advice
Leeds have one of the youngest squads in this season’s Championship and one of the players enjoying a breakthrough season is Joseph.
Joseph came off the bench on numerous occasions last term but it wasn’t until the opening day draw with Portsmouth that he eventually was handed his full league debut.
There have certainly been plenty of positive aspects to Joseph’s performances this season but no one will be more frustrated at his return of just two goals.
Joseph has missed some big chances against the likes of Sheffield Wednesday and Burnley but composure in the final third is something he clearly has based on his performances in pre-season.
Young players are always likely to work themselves up about mistakes but Guilavogui has been giving Joseph some behind-the-scenes advice to help him learn.
Offering a comparison between Joseph and Victor Osimhen, Guilavogui revealed how he has been telling the Spanish U21 international just how quickly things can change for a striker with just a few goals.
Osimhen failed to score even once during his time as a youngster in the first team at Wolfsburg, which is where he crossed paths with Guilavogui. Now, however, he is regarded as one of the best strikers in world football.
This sort of advice for Joseph can only be hugely beneficial and is exactly why Guilavogui was brought to the club in the first place.
What Guilavogui told Joseph at Thorp Arch
The root of Joseph’s frustration recently is likely to have stemmed from a period of six matches in a row without a start.
Here is exactly what Guilavogui had to say to Joseph about Osimhen, his lack of starts, and how quickly things can change in football.
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!’”
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