Leeds United striker Mateo Joseph was unable to hit the back of the net in his debut league start for the club against Portsmouth, but this still felt like a preview of what is to come from the striker.
949 days. Mateo Joseph had to wait this long to earn his first league debut for Leeds United. Saturday afternoon was bound to be noteworthy in some manner. So it proved.
There was no goal – Joseph had his hands on his head after missing that second-half chance – but this bizarre 3-3 draw with Portsmouth felt like a foreshadowing of things to come. A reminder of how much Joseph’s whole game has progressed, especially after a disappointing end to last season.
Joseph was one of the players that broke down in tears at Wembley Stadium a few months ago. However, the play-off final setback has only strengthened Joseph’s determination to return Leeds to the Premier League, and the striker has declared that ‘this is going to be my season’.
Joseph not only returned to Leeds with a new look (the bleach was long gone), but the Spaniard was also more determined than ever to kick the door down and break into the starting lineup. During his summer break, Joseph spent only a few days not running, improving his finishing time, or becoming stronger in the gym, and it showed.
Joseph had an immediate impact in pre-season, scoring against Hannover, Schalke, and Valencia, and he was rewarded with a starting spot on the first day of the Championship season, exactly like Archie Gray a year earlier. If last season was Gray’s breakout season, would this be the year when another academy graduate emerges as Leeds’ key man? Joseph has the capacity to do so, as friend and former Leeds teammate Sean McGurk explained.
“It’s quite simple with Mateo – he is what he is, and that’s a goal scorer,” said the Swindon Town winger. “Most of the time, he’s in the right place at the right time and that’s massive, especially for a young player.”
Joseph was in the ideal spot on Saturday when Jayden Bogle returned the ball across goal just minutes into the second half, but the 20-year-old was unable to score after wiggling away from his marker. It was a pivotal moment in a day in which Leeds squandered numerous opportunities.
However, Joseph will have other options. Leeds may have previously been linked with prolific strikers such as Blackburn Rovers’ Sammie Szmodics – pundit Kris Boyd discussed that prospect at the weekend after Joseph appeared to only ‘huff and puff’ – but it was telling that those reports were quickly shot down earlier this summer.
Leeds already has Patrick Bamford and Joel Piroe on their books, and the Whites regard Joseph so highly that there was no chance the patriotic Spaniard would be allowed to represent his country at the Olympics, let alone the club bringing in another goal scorer who could obstruct his path. Leeds have long invested in a player who has blossomed both on and off the field and has the potential to save the club millions.
“When he first came in, he was just a quiet lad who couldn’t speak English and, then, before you knew it, you couldn’t get him to shut up,” McGurk recounted. “I even had him talking a little Scouse!
“As a number 10, I enjoyed playing with Mateo in front of me because of his movement and, of course, his eye for goal. We shared many memories both on and off the pitch because we were so close and possibly the loudest. We just made a wonderful connection.”
McGurk was among many who watched from afar as Joseph advanced to the first team, particularly last season. Joseph may not have played as much as fans would have wanted, particularly following a magnificent double against Chelsea in February, but the 20-year-old has gained a lot by being around the squad.
Perhaps most crucially, Joseph had the opportunity to become acquainted with Daniel Farke’s stringent standards and what the Leeds manager expects from his lone striker away from goal, whether it is running the channels, holding the ball up, or leading the press, as demonstrated at Elland Road on Saturday.
Although Joseph may have made more appearances on loan elsewhere – which is never certain – staying with the club last season meant there was no settling in time under Farke when the notably quick Spain under-21 international returned last month and earned his position in the team. There was no goal, but that first league start against Portsmouth might be one of many in the coming weeks and months.
“I think he could be big for Leeds this year and I hope he is,” McGurk told reporters.
