How Mateo Joseph could prove to be Leeds’ most important player this season

It’s fair to say that his hot streak has cooled considerably after the last of Patrick Bamford’s 17 Premier League goals found the back of the net against West Brom in 2021. A plethora of injuries and deteriorating form has made the prospect of him starting for Leeds United regularly a largely unlikely and uninspiring prospect for the majority of supporters. Despite United achieving 90 points during the 23/24 season and narrowly missing out on promotion, the sole striker spot in Daniel Farke’s 4-2-3-1 setup was an interesting talking point.

Georginio Rutter started the season there but was deployed deeper as a number ten as the season progressed. Despite netting 13 goals in his debut season, Joel Piroe’s general performance levels failed to impress as it became evident that leading the line by himself in Farke’s setup was not his natural position, leading the manager to resort back to deploying Patrick Bamford. It was evident that these options were not the long-term solution, but the brilliance of Crysencio Summerville on the wing last season papered over the crack that Leeds had in the number 9 position.

Whilst all of this was transpiring, highly touted prospect Mateo Joseph was waiting in the wings. He was used sparingly during the first half of the season until he announced himself emphatically during an FA Cup game against Chelsea back in February, in which he scored twice in a 3-2 defeat in which Joseph and Leeds gave a good account of themselves against Premier League opposition.

As Leeds’ form took a nosedive towards the backend of the season there was growing fan discourse surrounding Joseph, and whether he should now be given a chance to solve the striker puzzle that seemed to have Farke left with no other option. But despite the clamours from the fanbase, Farke continued to put his trust in Bamford and Piroe, with Joseph often being substituted on late when Leeds were chasing a game. But over pre-season, something changed. Joseph’s development gave Farke the confidence to hand the keys to the young Spaniard to be the main man up top for Leeds United and it’s not hard to see why.

He plays with a sort of aggression and hunger that adds a different dynamic to the White’s forward line when playing. In previous seasons it was Bamford’s pressing and build-up play that was praised, but Joseph has proven he is more than capable of matching, if not exceeding him in those areas from what we have seen from him so far this season. This was particularly evident in the Sheffield Wednesday game, where Joseph’s inch-perfect ball in behind gave Dan James the freedom of Hillsborough before chipping the ‘keeper.

Couple this with his burst of pace and tendency to play on the final shoulder of defences to stretch the opposition, it is hard to see a world in which Joseph loses his starting position unless it is through injury. This could prove to be a burden for a 20-year-old to carry with the standards he has set for himself and after getting off the mark for the season in the previous game against Hull, it could be argued that Mateo Joseph is the player Leeds would miss the most through injury due to the options behind him in the pecking order and the lack of a centre forward being signed in the summer leaving Leeds with limited options. Options continue to dwindle when you take into account the latest of Bamford’s injury struggles ruling him out of games already this season.

However, it would be an unlikely scenario for the youngster to start all 46 Championship games with the fixture congestion that only the Football League can provide. Especially, around the Christmas and New Year period when that White shirt of Leeds United time and again proves to become heavier and heavier to wear, rotation will be necessary and perhaps the Championship experience and proven track record of finishing by Piroe may serve United best in certain fixtures.

Yes, it’s only been four games, yes Mateo Joseph will likely have a spell where he is low on confidence and failing to score and being a young striker it is understandable, and we may need to be patient at times. But if Leeds United gain promotion this season, Mateo Joseph will have had a big part to play, and he could really put a marker down for himself with a good performance against promotion rivals Burnley this Saturday at Elland Road.