Mateo Joseph reveals manager chat that 'triggered' Leeds United loan move — YEP 15/8/25

By Kyle Newbould

The wantaway striker refused to join his Leeds United teammates in Germany before the move.

Mateo Joseph was convinced Mallorca was the right club for him after a ‘crucial’ conversation with head coach Jagoba Arrasate.

Leeds United confirmed Joseph’s season-long switch to Mallorca last week following the striker’s request to play regular football away from Elland Road. Having refused to join his teammates in Germany against the strong recommendation of manager Daniel Farke, the 21-year-old was made available for loan, with club chiefs only open to a permanent sale if an offer deemed too good to turn down was submitted.

That never came and despite long and well-covered interest from Real Betis, it was their La Liga rivals Mallorca who swooped in to meet Leeds’ loan demands. And for Joseph, a chat with Arrasate and sporting director Pablo Ortells was enough for him to sign off on the move.

“The conversation with the coach was crucial for me,” Joseph told Spanish outlet Cope. “When someone is so clear and has so much confidence in you, you want to repay that confidence with hard work. That was a trigger.

“This [season] is going to take a lot of turns. We’ll see this year. Right now, I’m delighted here with the training ground, the city, the training, the people, who are incredible. We’ll see.”

Joseph will hope a move to Spain brings the kind of regular football he felt was not forthcoming at Leeds, something Farke refuted by evidencing his first-choice status at the start of last season and 39 Championship appearances. Admittedly, the Whites have strengthened upfront and will do so again soon with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and minutes are crucial for the Spain Under-21 international.

He is unlikely to walk straight in as first-choice at Mallorca, however, with experienced frontman Vedat Muriqi scoring seven goals in 29 La Liga matches last season. But that doesn’t seem to be an issue for the Leeds loanee, who could even see himself playing out wide if head coach Arrasate needs him there.

“There will be opportunities for everyone because it’s a long season,” he added. “[Muriqi] is a striker I admire, and we’ll probably get to play together because I think we complement each other well. I’ve been a striker almost my whole life, so I can help out on the wing. Whatever they ask me to do, I’ll do it and give it my all, that’s for sure.”

With Joseph gone and Patrick Bamford not set to be involved this season, Leeds have been in the market for attacking reinforcements all summer and look set to sign Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The 28-year-old has agreed a deal in principle to join the Whites as a free agent and is expected to undergo medical tests imminently.

Calvert-Lewin will join fellow free agent arrival Lukas Nmecha and 2024/25 Championship Golden Boot winner Joel Piroe in the striker ranks but Leeds might not be done there either. Recent reports have suggested they hold an interest in Greek striker Fotis Ioannidis, who has scored 48 goals in 168 appearances across all competitions for Panathinaikos.