Leeds United hatch new plan for Mateo Joseph after fresh interest from Real Betis

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Mateo Joseph continues to be a player of interest to clubs in Europe, with the Leeds United striker linked with Real Betis.

The UEFA Conference League finalists of 2025, Real Betis made a deadline day bid for Mateo Joseph in January. He remained at Elland Road and scored just once after that point.

Joseph scored three and assisted three in total last season, albeit the majority of those came in the first few months of the campaign when he was starting more games than Joel Piroe.

Victor Orta initially signed the Spaniard to Leeds’ U-21 team back in 2022 from Espanyol; in the process, Joseph chose Leeds over Real Madrid as well.

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Mateo Joseph and Real Betis update involves the U-21 Euros

Leeds value Joseph at around £12.75 million and there have been previous reports stating Betis are planning for Joseph talks this month.

Now, ABC report Wolves are asking for more than €30 million for any interested club to sign Fabio Silva, which is something Betis wouldn’t want to pay for the Las Palmas loanee.

Joseph would therefore be the preferred option, but Leeds don’t want to rush into selling the youngster. He’s set to take part for Spain at the U-21s Euros, with their first match tomorrow.

They intend to see how he gets on and make a decision on his future at a later date. Leeds fans would rather loan Joseph to gain further experience.

The 21-year-old just played in his first full season as a professional, with 1,270 league minutes compared to just 219 last season in 2023/24.

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Mateo Joseph could be sold for pure profit by Leeds United

Despite Farke calling Joseph ‘important’, he’s hardly played and it’s not reflected well on Farke or the striker. His development risks stalling without regular game time next term, which is why a loan appears to be best for all parties involved.

However, there could be a transfer fee that Leeds simply cannot say no to. Leeds need to have oven-ready players over projects needing time and patience to be developed.

In terms of minutes alone, his goal and assist return still looks decent. However, he now needs a full season as a professional with 30+ starts in a competitive league. That could be the Championship or in the first or second tier of Spanish football.

But a permanent switch is starting to look like a likelier outcome by the day, even if Leeds are willing to wait until after the U-21 European Championships.