Leeds United have a Mateo Joseph problem after the striker asked Daniel Farke for a transfer this summer.
The 21-year-old is a player with serious potential, but he also is aware of his place in the striker pecking order at Leeds United after the arrival of Lukas Nmecha and with more yet to come.
In recent weeks, Leeds United News exclusively revealed that Joseph is keen on a return to Spain, despite other reports stating Leeds are intent on keeping Joseph in recent times.
Then, speaking after the first pre-season friendly of the summer, Daniel Farke explained Joseph had chosen not to be involved despite Willy Gnonto starting after returning from international duty early to face Man United.
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Graham Smyth’s verdict on what will happen to Leeds striker Mateo Joseph
But interest continues to mount in the 21-year-old Spanish striker. It’s since been claimed that Celta Vigo have also joined the Joseph race, but there has been serious interest in Joseph from Real Betis for a while now.
It’s now reported that Betis want a loan for Joseph or a deal between £8.5 million and £13 million, perhaps inclusive of add-ons or some sort of sell-on clause being involved as well.
The Leeds social media may have even mocked Joseph due to his refusal to train and work hard in pre-season, especially after such an impressive off-season last summer.
Graham Smyth spoke to The Square Ball and provided his thoughts on the situation. He said: “I think a loan is very, very likely.
“Now, somebody might come in and put down an amount of money on the table and Leeds think, ‘you know what? Bloody hell. That money sorts us out a little bit for PSR, helps us get other business over the line, and gets this situation out of our hair.’
“But that hasn’t happened yet. And because that hasn’t happened yet, I’m starting to think a loan makes a lot more sense.
“Say he goes to Betis, or he goes to somewhere else instead in Spain, or a top league in Europe, and he scores 5-10 goals — his value is way above what it is right now.
“Then, you sell him before the 30th of June, and then the situation has been absolutely perfect. Now, say he doesn’t, right? And it’s a year of toil, or injuries, or a frustrating year, or whatever.
“You’ve still got a player on your books, you bring him back, and you’ve not lost an asset. There are other players that can be sold between now and the 30th of June, depending on where Leeds find themselves in the Premier League season.
“And depending on what happens with the rest of this window. So, I don’t think Leeds are over a barrel here at all. The whole player power aspect of it, it didn’t work out too brightly for Willy Gnonto when he was advised down a similar route.
“He didn’t get sold, Leeds didn’t bend to that, and I think there might be a similar stubbornness with Leeds. Unless, of course, somebody says, ‘here is X amount of millions, we’ll take him.’
“Every player has a price, don’t they? Every single player. There will be a number that Leeds would say, ‘right, fair enough, let’s do it.’
“But I do think they’ll want to protect themselves because this is a player they definitely think has a huge amount of potential. He’s still very, very young.
“He’s done really, really well for Spain U-21s. This is not a player that you’d want to sell on the cheap. This is a player you’d want to sell for a decent amount of money plus a decent sell-on.
“There’s still a real possibility that Mateo Joseph catches fire and becomes a really great striker.”
Mateo Joseph’s previous comments on his Leeds future have not aged well
The fact of the matter is that Joseph’s sale can help Leeds’ PSR situation immeasurably, but that doesn’t have to be this summer, so long as it’s before the end of June next year.
At the time, Joseph’s ambitious comments have frustrated Leeds fans, which seemed harsh at the time. However, his transfer request following what he said to Leeds Live back in June means little sympathy is now given.
He said: “I’m very focused on the tournament, and I’ll have to talk to Leeds, with whom I haven’t yet.
“Then whatever has to happen will happen, which is certainly the best thing for everyone. I’ll be ready for the opportunities they give me, wherever they may be.
“We [Leeds] achieved our goal as a team, but I personally want to be more involved in the final stretch of the season. I think I need more participation to continue developing as a player.
“The season has just ended, and we have to stop and evaluate. We’ve been promoted to the Premier League. We’ll see what the club says, but I want to play more to continue growing.
“There are many players in the Spanish national team that I’d like to play with. It would mean I’m at a very big club,” he said.
“We’ll see what happens. For now, I’m focused on the European Championship, and my goal next year is to be more involved.”
It’s fair to say that those words have simply not aged well at all.
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