Mateo Joseph will play a ‘vital role’ for Leeds United, according to Daniel Farke.
As he recovers from injury, Leeds United star Mateo Joseph will play a “important part” for the club in the short and long term, according to manager Daniel Farke.
Farke claimed that Joseph pleased him during pre-season, both in training and in warm-up games, some of which were held behind closed doors as they prepared for the Championship season.
He had been sidelined with an ankle injury sustained only days before the season began [BBC, 4 August], but Dr Rajpal Brar informed MOT Leeds News that he is now able to play 90 minutes, and Farke has confirmed Joseph’s sharpness in training.
Farke told the Yorkshire Evening Post ahead of the Southampton game: “Sadly, he had this long-term injury, and as a young player who is just on his way into first team football, it’s never easy if you are out for more or less two months and then need a little bit longer to get back in shape.”
“But on the training pitch, he looks really sharp and we are also thinking perhaps of giving him some minutes whenever possible in the under 21s to give him a bit of feeling for the positioning but also the feeling for a normal game but once he is capable to impress that is also a chance to be selected for the travelling squad.
“He was for example for the last game and we obviously also had a few injury concerns in the last game with Willy Gnonto and also Patrick was not one hundred per cent available.
“For that, we are happy that Mateo was available and I’m quite sure that in the mid and long-term future of this club, he will play a pretty important role and I’m pleased with him.”
High hopes for his future
There are high hopes around Joseph both for his future at Elland Road but also as a player. At just 19 years old, he is clearly highly respected and admired by the staff at Leeds, and Farke’s keen praise of the attacker is a display of just how good he is.
With Joseph providing active competition and cover for the likes of Wilfried Gnonto, Crysencio Summerville, Joel Piroe and Georginio Rutter, it will only be a positive for him to be able to train and play alongside such talented players.
The return of Patrick Bamford from injury will have been a slight harm to his chances, but the boss’ comments will ease any worries of falling down the pecking order, as his availability is obviously valued and will be relied upon as fixture congestion ramps up.
In the Championship, having an abundance of quality players is never a bad thing, and fans can now expect to see Joseph given his chance to shine as the fixture schedule gets tighter in the slog of the winter months.
In other Leeds United news, the 49ers may now need to raise cash to let a forgotten man leave.
