Leeds United: International exploits show why Daniel Farke must make striker selection call - View | OneFootball

Leeds United's Mateo Joseph has begun the season extremely well with Leeds and Spain's U-21 team, giving Daniel Farke a decision to make

Leeds United starlet Mateo Joseph's strong start to the season continued with a goal against Scotland's under-21's team for Spain on Friday evening, having come off the bench just three minutes prior to notch the winner.

As the new season kicked off last month, all eyes were on the young striker and whether Daniel Farke would grant him his full league debut at long last for Leeds, having only started cup games or come off the bench in the league in 2023/24.

Leeds found themselves in a tricky position with their strikers this summer, which could make Joseph the biggest beneficiary in the long-run. He has so far started up top in all four league games for Leeds, scoring or assisting three times in those matches.

Farke has put the faith in him, as Joel Piroe does not suit playing as a lone focal point up front because he lacks the skill-set for holding the ball up and leading the line. Patrick Bamford has those qualities, but lacks the required consistency in terms of both his finishing ability and his injury record, thus cannot be relied upon for a full season.

There's perhaps a school of thought that the reason Joseph was underutilised by Farke last season is down to the youthfulness of Leeds' forward line, which included players such as Willy Gnonto, Crysencio Summerville, and Georginio Rutter — all of whom are aged under 23.

Now, with the restructuring of Leeds' attack after a difficult summer window, it could give the Spanish youth international a real run at making the number-nine spot his own, to spearhead the forward line in 2024/25.

Mateo Joseph's impact at Leeds in 2024/25

The 20-year-old is fairly inexperienced for his age, but he still managed to feature in 26 of Leeds' 55 games in total in all competitions last season, albeit only two of those appearances came as starts and neither of those were in the league.

The promising forward showed glimpses of his potential in the latter half of last season, especially with his brace at Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup. He followed that with an impressive pre-season, leading to a growing belief that he is ready to make a significant impact.

Joseph's four goals and an assist in the four off-season friendlies, including a variety of types of goal and finish, highlighted that he is obviously gifted, and he either needed to be utilised with greater regularity by Farke this season in the Championship, with an increased number of starts.

Joseph also made the decision to switch international allegiances from England to Spain during last season, and scored in just his second appearance against Belgium's under-21's, and his most recent strike against the Tartan Army means he has already bagged his second goal in just three games.

A darting run across the defender and a cool finish is something Leeds fans are growing accustomed to seeing of late, be that in pre-season or for club and country at the start of the regular campaign. After opening the scoring against Hull City, w​​​​​hat a week he has had so far, and his confidence is clearly sky-high at present.

Mateo Joseph deserves to remain as Leeds United's starting striker over Patrick Bamford

Joseph's youthful exuberance could be of benefit after a number of Leeds' other young attackers have left this summer, while he also possesses the line-leading abilities needed to pin the opposition and run the channels. It could and should be his breakout year in a Leeds shirt, even more so than last season.

The 20-year-old has showcased his quality as an all-round striker in flashes, with impressive movement off the shoulder and the ability to battle well with his physical presence, which appears even more filled out than last term.

Joseph 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.

Bamford is obviously a player who is helpful at alleviating pressure and getting Leeds up the pitch by making the ball stick in the final third. Given how crucial Bamford has become to Leeds, many fans may perhaps have thought to give him more of a chance before a hamstring issue took him out of action in the last few fixtures.

Even when he returns from that, it's now Joseph's shirt to lose, and he deserves the chance to get on a roll after scoring in the last game against Hull prior to the international break. Leeds have options in attack now, but Joseph is rightfully and quickly becoming their nailed-on starter as the centre-forward.