“Half of Europe” claimed to be keen on signing Leeds United ace pushing for key role – Report

Leeds United striker Mateo Joseph is reportedly a target for “half of Europe” this summer, including Swansea City, Sampdoria and Wolfsburg.

The Whites are not in a position to let go more players that they don’t need to, and that includes the youth players on the fringes of major involvement.

Mateo Joseph is likely to have a part to play this season, especially with both Georginio Rutter and Patrick Bamford picking up injuries on Sunday.

Joseph attracting interest from Europe

Having played a part in Leeds’ pre-season, off the back of seriously impressing in the PL2 setup last term, Mateo Joseph is a target for a number of clubs.

That’s according to Marca, who report that “half of Europe” are alerted to the talents of the England youth international:

“If 2022 was the year of Mateo Joseph’s discovery, 2023 is the year of his confirmation. His numbers with Leeds in Premier League 2 and his appearances with the first team earned him the call from England to play the U20 World Cup, a showcase that has taken the name of the striker to the technical secretariats of half of Europe.”

Who wants to sign him?

Amongst the clubs named in the report are Leeds’ EFL rivals Swansea City, who have already added two attackers to their side this summer in Jerry Yates and Mykola Kukharevych – while being reportedly likely to keep Leeds target Joel Piroe.

Another cited is Andrea Radrizzani’s Sampdoria, while Wolfsburg are the third namechecked by the report.

It is claimed that Joseph’s future will be decided once his role in the Leeds squad under Farke is defined this month.

We should not be considering letting Joseph go any time soon, given that we have an injury-prone number nine, and Rutter – who isn’t best up front.

Joseph’s role for us is unclear, but he will be sure to get minutes when we need to rotate for midweek games and when injuries set in.

This amount of interest underlines how talented a player he is, and we would be very daft to even consider letting him leave.

 

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Captain thinks his club have beaten Rangers to a ‘brilliant’ £2.5m signing

Swansea City captain Matt Grimes believes the Championship outfit have pulled off a ‘brilliant’ signing while beating the likes of Rangers to former Blackpool striker Jerry Yates.

If there is one thing Mick Beale shares in common with Swansea’s new manager, Michael Duff, it’s how they see the role of a centre-forward in their tactical system.

The ability of Danilo and Cyriel Dessers to press from the front were major factors in Rangers’ decision to bring in the former Feyenoord duo to replace the sluggish Alfredo Morelos and the prolific-but-one-dimensional Antonio Colak.

Rangers, according to The Sun’s Alan Nixon, scouted Yates on numerous occasions before the window even opened. An impressive tally of 15 goals for a relegated Blackpool side in 2022/23 caught the eye, but it was arguably Yates’ remarkable work-ethic and his relentless running which earned him a place on Beale’s wishlist.

Rangers miss out on Jerry Yates

Swansea’s new £2.5 million signing will now be expected to play a similar role under Duff at Swansea instead. And as far as the Swans skipper is concerned, he is just glad he is playing with – rather than ‘against’ – Yates these days.

“He is always such a hard-working player, he is an absolute nightmare to play against,” Grimes tells BBC South Wales. “He doesn’t stop working and (he has) such good quality as well.

“I think he will be a brilliant addition for us.”

Yates is likely to make his official Swansea debut at home to Birmingham City on Saturday. Rangers will take on Kilmarnock on Rugby Park later in the day, with Dessers insistent that it is not necessarily a case of him or Danilo.

Both strikers, he says, can play together in Beale’s system.

A new-look partnership at Ibrox

“We could work together. He’s a great striker,” Dessers says of Danilo. “I played a lot against him in the Netherlands, so I know him as a player.

“When you play at a top club there will always be competition. Danilo and I need to make each other stronger. But it could be a partnership. I don’t want to tell everyone the plans of the coach, but we could play together.

“I watched a lot of Feyenoord games last season and Danilo will bring goals to Rangers. He’s good in the combinations and can provide assists as well. Not all strikers can do that, but he can.”