When Archie Gray and Mateo Joseph committed their long-term futures to Leeds United within a matter of days, there is no doubt which one had more excitement around it.
Having only made his debut in August 2023, Gray was quickly able to establish himself as a first team regular at Elland Road and so tying him to a new four-year-deal was seen as a real statement of intent.
At the time, Gray was being watched by numerous elite clubs including Manchester United and unfortunately despite the extension, Leeds were unable to keep him after missing out on promotion.
Joseph‘s new deal, which was announced three days after Gray’s, came a time when he was still a relative unknown at Leeds, as he had only received a few brief cameos off the bench here and there.
However, that is a decision which has proven to be inspired considering how he has developed since then, which started with his two-goal performance away at Chelsea in March.
Joseph makes Lamine Yamal comparison after Leeds contract decision
At the time, Joseph could’ve perhaps been forgiven for seeing what other options were out there amid his lack of game time at Leeds.
Seeing Gray, who is a year-and-a-half younger than him, start week-in, week-out for the first team when sometimes he could not even get off the bench must’ve been slightly frustrating.
Thankfully, Joseph has only ever used that as fuel for motivation to work even harder, and has explained how he now feels about that decision in an interview with journalist Jonathan Ramos.
Mateo Joseph, el hijo de la heladera del Sardinero que siempre soñó con España: “Los jóvenes ven a Laminen o Cubarsí y quieren correr”.
🗣️ “El Racing es lo más grande que hay en Cantabria”.
🤣 Anécdota con Huijsen al final del texto.
Todo en @relevo https://t.co/ZxeNV1eNAW
— Jonathan Ramos (@JoniRamos) September 6, 2024
Joseph mentioned the examples of Barcelona’s 17-year-old star duo Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi of how it can be difficult at times to remain patient as a young player.
However, he also claimed that Leeds have always shown full ‘confidence’ in him that he would become an important part of the squad, and is now ‘very happy’ that is the case.
He said: “Yes, last year I signed until 2028 and very happy, the truth. The club always gave me confidence, despite not having so many minutes last year.
“Always have that patience, young players see others like Lamine or Cubarsí who are so young playing in the elite and want to run. But well, everyone has their own way and it is important that, as I have said before, to keep your feet on the ground and keep working.”
Daniel Farke has faith Joseph can be Leeds’ ‘main man’
Leeds boss Daniel Farke is always pretty wary of praising young players too much in the press, and that has been the case with Joseph at the start of this season.
Having said that, it must be hard not to when delivering the performances Joseph has at the beginning of this campaign.
After netting his first of the season in last weekend’s win over Hull City, Farke claimed Joseph has the potential to be the ‘main man’ at Leeds.
He said: “He definitely has instinct. Unfair to compare with others. To be the main man, you need to have a special character, talent; he has that but not finished product. We can speak when he has 20, 30 goals, not now.”
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