Daniel Farke has had to make use of his Leeds United squad since the international break.
The Whites lost a lot of players to injury while overseas representing their respective countries, therefore others have had to step up.
Leeds were far from their best in either of the two Easter matches, but they still managed to pick up four points, keeping them in contention for the top two.
While promotion rivals Ipswich Town have dominated the late show this season, Leeds were forced to do it twice in their final two games.
Mateo Joseph was the hero at Watford after coming off the bench, and Crysencio Summerville scored even later from a penalty win over Hull City.
Hay thinks Farke likes £900k ace over 24-year-old at Leeds right now.
Leeds have had one of the finest benches in the Championship for most of the season, and that depth has been a key element in their success.
Dan James has thrived in the super sub role in recent months, while Connor Roberts has also had a huge influence on occasion. Others, such Willy Gnonto, Patrick Bamford, and Joel Piroe, have appeared in numerous games as substitutes.
However, one of Leeds’ young players has been the most effective substitute in recent weeks. Joseph has changed several games in which he was introduced late, notably the one in which he scored against Watford.
Joseph was even chosen to come off the bench ahead of Piroe on Monday, and Phil Hay, speaking on the latest episode of the Square Ball Podcast, believes the Spaniard is currently the better choice over the 24-year-old.
He stated, “The difficulty here [with penalties] is that Piroe is effectively the first choice penalty taker but is unable to get a game. He isn’t receiving many minutes right now, and on Monday night, when the first change was needed, Joseph came on for Bamford rather than Piroe.
“This would imply that, if not a change in hierarchy, there has been a shift in Farke’s thinking about who is most likely to have an impact. At the moment, I agree with that and expect Joseph to outperform Piroe on the bench.
Joseph is now pushing to dislodge Bamford after overtaking Piroe.
Though Joseph appears to have surpassed Piroe in Farke’s pecking order, he is yet to make his Leeds league debut.
The £900k ace could not have done much more in recent weeks to earn one, as he continues to make an impression off the bench.
He has also demonstrated in the FA Cup encounter against Chelsea that he can start, even against top Premier League competition.
Farke has already hinted that Bamford will keep his spot in today’s crucial Championship encounter at Coventry City, but he can’t be far away from starting now.
