Leeds United boss Daniel Farke has revealed that he would be worried about a January swoop for Mateo Joseph if he added more goals to his game.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of tonight’s game against his former side Norwich City, Farke also reinforced how difficult it must be for Joseph to start regularly for the White, considering he’s still a reasonably inexperienced forward.
With Patrick Bamford struggling with injuries and Joe Gelhardt way down the pecking order, it seems as though Joseph and Joel Piroe will be the main competitors for a starting spot in the striker area before the transfer window opens.
It’s unclear whether the Whites will add another striker to their squad during the winter window, but in the short term, it looks as though both will be winning plenty of game time.
Joseph did score a brace at Chelsea in the FA Cup last season, but he’s only 20 at this stage and has been given a key role by Farke, who also showed plenty of faith in fellow youngster Archie Gray last season before his summer exit.
This term, the Whites’ current forward has only registered one goal in the league thus far, but that doesn’t reflect the positive impact he has had at Elland Road during the early stages of the 2024/25 campaign, with the player recording two assists away at Sheffield Wednesday.
He put pen to paper on a new contract earlier this year to extend his contract until 2028 – and that has proved to be a very shrewd decision – with plenty of teams likely to be taking an interest in him following his fairly impressive start to the season.
Daniel Farke’s Leeds United transfer admission involving Mateo Joseph
With Joseph only having one goal this term, but contributing in other areas, Farke has admitted that he would be concerned about interest during the January window if he scores more regularly.
He said: “I’m happy that I have Mateo, and happy with the workload, and the goals will come. He’s so greedy to score.
“You have to keep in mind he’s still a young player, it’s still more or less his first season where he’s also playing and starting the games.
“For a club with such a heavy shirt, it’s also not that easy sometimes to fulfil all expectations.
“If he would be there next to his top performances already with seven, eight, nine goals under his belt, I would be even more worried about January, if I’m honest.”
Daniel Farke factor could help Leeds United to retain Mateo Joseph
Farke has shown that he promises young players if they are good enough.
And with Joseph getting plenty of chances to shine, the forward is more likely to think twice about leaving Elland Road if that opportunity pops up.
Leeds have also been fairly successful under Farke during his time in charge, even with the play-off final loss in mind, with the Whites heading in the right direction.
That may give the forward the confidence that he will have the opportunity to compete in the Premier League at some point if he stays put at Elland Road.
With this in mind, Farke could play a key part in potentially keeping Joseph in West Yorkshire beyond the end of the January transfer window.
