Sonny Perkins’ terrible season has taken another damage, with Mateo Joseph’s goals in the first team emphasizing the former’s Leeds United slump this season.
The two young strikers were both in excellent form for the Under-21s a year ago, but while one has risen through the ranks under Daniel Farke, the other has probably regressed from where he was in the summer and is further away than ever.
The Whites manager led his team to Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup on Wednesday (28 February), coming within minutes of forcing Mauricio Pochettino’s side into extra time before Conor Gallagher’s late winner.
But Joseph (20) did his own hopes no harm by putting Leeds United ahead early on and then equalising in the second half of the 3-2 defeat, his first two senior goals for the team.
The Spanish-born England youth international appears to have jumped ahead of the ever-unlucky Joe Gelhardt in the first-team lineup, after the latter missed the game totally owing to back spasms, according to the manager [Leeds Live, 28 February].
Sonny Perkins left in Leeds United limbo after Oxford United’s loan failure.
But Perkins’ absence was less surprising, given that his development had stalled this season following a nightmare loan to Oxford United in League One that went nowhere, and he was brought back to Thorp Arch early after only three third-tier appearances off the bench totaling only a few minutes.
After coming on as a substitute for Farke in the last seconds of the opener against Cardiff City on August 6, he was ineligible for a second loan move in January and has since been confined to the Whites Under-21s.
He has a crowded field already, with Georginio Rutter, Joel Piroe, and Patrick Bamford all regulars in the promotion push since the beginning of 2024.
So, while Joseph taking advantage of his cup opportunity appears to be a very positive development for Leeds United, it appears to be the opposite for Perkins.
Ironically, the former West Ham youngster’s first-team appearance at the start of the season may have harmed his chances of further involvement in Farke’s setup the most, with the FA Cup exit likely eliminating the possibility that the German rotates his squad far from a strong first XI for the remainder of the Championship promotion battle.
Perkins now has his work cut out if he wants to avoid joining the long list of “emerging talent” acquisitions who have moved on in recent windows without making much of an impact in the first team, having been sent back to square one after his Oxford move failed, while Joseph has caught the eye against Premier League opposition as the next in line.
