Graham Smyth outlines Leeds United's Mateo Joseph transfer stance after shock Daniel Farke reveal — YEP 23/7/25

By Kyle Newbould

Mateo Joseph has asked to leave Leeds United this summer after failing to report for pre-season in Germany.

YEP chief football writer Graham Smyth believes Leeds United could bank even more money for Mateo Joseph in the current accounting year if they loan him out this summer.

Joseph’s future at Elland Road has been cast into serious doubt following an admission from Daniel Farke that he has asked to leave. The 21-year-old was due to join his teammates in Germany this week but will now train with the Under-21s at Thorp Arch, with Farke insisting he will not keep players who don’t want to play for his side in the Premier League.

The issue Joseph faces thus far is no one - heavily-linked Real Betis included - has been able to produce an offer Leeds deem good enough for their stance to change, with the striker still considered not for sale. But after reflecting on the difficult situation, Smyth explained how a season-long loan switch could benefit all parties.

“Farke says he won't stand in the player's way if he doesn't want to be here at Leeds and doesn't want to be excited about playing in the Premier League,” Smyth told the YEP’s inside Elland Road podcast out in Germany. “But there is a big but, and that is Leeds United’s valuation of Joseph not being met by anyone who's shown an interest so far. So he's going nowhere for the time being.

“The club have been pretty consistent on not wanting to sell, but I can definitely see a situation where either someone finally stumps up the requisite money - they may insert a sell-on clause, and Leeds are happy with that - or Joseph maybe has to settle for a loan. Leeds United could still get Joseph off the books in the [2025/26] PSR accounting period if they sold him before June 30, which could still come after next season.

“The benefit of that would be that if Joseph goes somewhere else and scores a few goals, his value is going to go up. So instead of selling now for £Xmillion, you let him go on loan to Betis or whoever, he scores five to 10 goals in a top league, and suddenly you're looking at a much more expensive player to buy next summer. Leeds United would certainly benefit from that, from a PSR perspective, but that's where we are with Mateo Joseph.”

Leeds United have been here before

Farke was typically honest in his assessment of the situation, which was revealed following Tuesday’s 4-1 friendly win over SC Verl, and admitted it would now be up to those in charge at Elland Road to make a decision on Joseph’s future. He ‘strongly recommended’ the striker report for pre-season in Germany but as things stand, he’ll remain at Thorp Arch.

This is not the first time Farke has been forced to manage wantaway players, with Willy Gnonto absent from competitive matchday squads during the German’s first campaign in charge after also handing in a transfer request. Leeds had also been managing a host of relegation release clauses until their return to the Premier League.

“It's a fairly unique situation in terms of him not joining the training camp, but Leeds have been here before, with players who didn't want to play,” Smyth added. “We had the Willy Gnonto situation a couple of years ago, we had the players all going out on loan because they didn't want to be at Leeds.

“Whether there's a way back for Joseph is difficult to see. Maybe he'll see sense, he'll agree with Farke and he'll come out to be involved in the training camp. But as it stands, he's training at Thorp Arch individually and will then join in with the Under-21s.”