The reason behind Leeds United sending both Largie Ramazani and Mateo Joseph out on loan without a permanent option or obligation was that Leeds still sees a future with them.
A future, or profit. Leeds hope Ramazani and Joseph shine in Spanish football this season, and they return to Elland Road with renewed confidence and experience, making them better options for Daniel Farke.
But if they prefer to leave Leeds, then a good season in Spain’s top tier will have increased their value. Robbie Evans said: “Our hope is he [Joseph] has a phenomenal season at Mallorca and comes back.
“He’s a favourite of the club and the chairman, and so we hope he does great. Same story for Largie who also has no buy option because we insisted we had the option to bring him back to the club,” he added.
LeedsUnited.News understands Leeds had an agreement with Joseph to sell him if offers of €10m arrived, but they didn’t. Valencia actually removed a permanent option for Ramazani, just to keep the deal alive.
Bad weekend for Mateo Joseph as Mallorca fail to win again
It has been a solid start for Ramazani, and while he is yet to start, he has an assist under Carlos Corberan. Half an hour in a very solid 2-0 win over Bilbao on the weekend will have done his chances no harm.
There is an upward curve with Ramazani’s loan but for Joseph, it is going from bad to worse. Mallorca have endured a tough start, facing Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in their first five games.
Ahead of Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Atleti, Mallorca had recorded one point. Joseph had three starts, no goals and one assist via winning a penalty. He will have thought he’d start against Diego Simeone’s men.
Not only did Joseph fail to start for Mallorca, he remained an unused substitute. While Ramazani is gradually making more of an impact at a better side, Joseph seems to have wasted his first opportunity.
Why Mallorca was always the wrong club for Mateo Joseph
As Evans said, Leeds want Joseph to have a “phenomenal” season. It makes the Spain U21 striker a lot more valuable if he wants to leave, or a better option for Farke if he returns, almost like a new signing.
But Mallorca was always the wrong club for Joseph. To have a good season, Joseph would need to score lots of goals with his loan side. Last season, Mallorca finished tenth, but they managed just 35 goals.
They focus on defence first, then attack. A total of 35 goals means chances are at a premium and Joseph is not going to get the platform to go and score 10 or more goals this season. So far, they have five.
It’s not been a good start for Mallorca or Joseph and while the difficulty of the opposition could be a reason, the fact he was an unused substitute on Sunday will be a concern for both Joseph and Leeds.
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