Who is Mateo Joseph? The Leeds United talent who scored brace v Chelsea | OneFootball

Leeds United were defeated 3-2 at Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup fifth round, but Mateo Joseph secured his first senior goals with a brace against Chelsea.

The 20-year-old striker was starting his second game in a row in the cup, and it was just his second start all season in any competition for the club.

His first came to break the deadlock early on, with Leeds winning the ball high, and Jaidon Anthony finding Joseph with space in the box to curl home his first goal for the club.

Leeds then fell behind against their bitter rivals but Joseph would bring the scores level when heading home in front of the away end from Anthony's pinpoint cross to spark jubilant celebrations.

Who is Mateo Joseph?

The Leeds striker's full name is Mateo Joseph Fernández-Regatillo and he was born October 19th 2003 in Spain to an English father and a Spanish mother.

Joseph is a youth product of Racing Santander, but moved to the academy of Espanyol in 2017 after a prolific season. However, a little over two years ago, in January 2022, he transferred to his current side, Leeds, on an initial three-year contract.

At just 18, he initially linked up with their growing U-23 side, which was an area Victor Orta put plenty of work into during his time with the club. Joseph instantly became one of the stars of the team, operating predominantly as a striker, although sometimes out wide as well.

He developed a good partnership with Sonny Perkins and has so far notched 20 goals in 37 games for Leeds' various youth sides, including a further four assists.

He captained Leeds in EFL Trophy games against professional sides such as Bolton Wanderers and Tranmere Rovers last season, bagging a goal against Tranmere's senior team in a 5-3 win for the Whites.

In March 2023, Joseph also received his first call-up to the England U-20 squad and made his debut during a 2–0 win over Germany in Manchester. On May 10th 2023, Joseph was also included in the England squad for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

He would go on to feature three times during that tournament, collecting one assist. He has three goals and two assist in 10 games at U-20 level for England so far, but may yet change his allegiance to Spain, with the striker not yet tied down to a particular nation.

Joseph was born in Spain to an English father of Antiguan descent and a Spanish mother, and he holds Spanish and British citizenship.

Strangely, he is a relative of former England striker, Emile Heskey, with his father being his cousin. Heskey has two sons on the books at Manchester City, Reigan (16) and Jaden (18), and Joseph reportedly speaks to the latter from time to time.

Mateo Joseph's senior career so far

Joseph did not look out of place when he was handed his full first-team debut by Jesse Marsch in the Carabao Cup defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers during a third round tie in November 2022. Joseph played the full 90 minutes, with the majority coming from the left flank.

Joseph was then entrusted to play just days later with a late cameo in the Premier League against Spurs, and made three appearances in total from the bench last season in the top-flight.

He has taken every challenge in his stride so far and has slowly built his way into senior action. Joseph has played in 20 games for the Whites so far; however, big things have been expected of him and he is primed to explode in the second tier should he be handed the chance.

Injury has restricted him to less action than he would have liked this term, after starting the campaign on the treatment table, but he has all the fundamentals to make it as a striker to a very good level.

The 20-year-old can finish well, run the channels, link play, hold up the ball, and is strong in one-v-one situations as well. His skill set for a striker is well-rounded already and he has all the attributes of a modern day number-nine to succeed with more refinement and development.

His first appearance in a matchday squad this season came against Sheffield Wednesday, but he didn't feature at all until Leeds' 2-0 away win over Blackburn Rovers. However, since then, Joseph has made 12 substitute appearances in the last 19 games.

Joseph has started just twice this season, in back-to-back games in the FA Cup. He acted as Leeds' focal point against Plymouth in the away replay, striking the woodwork and showcasing his ability to work the channels and off play off the shoulder in a difficult fixture.

That game came after a big confidence boost for Joseph personally, having signed a new deal at Elland Road until 2028. The youngster has since followed that up with the brace against the 2021 UEFA Champions League winners, so will be on cloud nine at present.

Given how crucial Bamford has become to Leeds, it is unlikely he will be dropped often for the remainder of the season, but Joseph has taken his chance to impress Daniel Farke in those last two cup games.

Joseph has only started three times at senior level for the club, with 17 of his appearances coming in spells of 22 minutes or less, and perhaps the next step is a Championship start.