Not just Joseph: Leeds should have sold "half-hearted" £35k-p/w ace

Leeds United went through the January transfer window, which officially closed for business last week, without bolstering their first-team squad.

The Whites opted not to make any additions to Daniel Farke‘s squad as they aim for automatic promotion out of the Championship in the second half of the season.

They were, however, reportedly interested in a deal to sign Aston Villa attacking midfielder Emiliano Buendia, who played for the German head coach during their time together at Norwich City.

The Argentina international plundered 23 goals and 28 assists in 77 Championship matches for the Canaries, helping them to two titles, and Farke was looking to win a third promotion with the playmaker.

Unfortunately, however, Leeds were unable to get a deal over the line for the 28-year-old star, who eventually completed a move to Bayer Leverkusen on loan until the end of the 2024/25 campaign.

Whilst the Whites did not bring in any new players, they did have a chance to cash in on one of their first-team players and opted to keep hold of him.

Bid made for Leeds forward

Spain U21 international Mateo Joseph attracted interest from elsewhere during the January transfer window and, ultimately, remained at Elland Road beyond the deadline.

Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Graham Smyth relayed that the club confirmed that multiple Spanish clubs were keen on a deal to sign the 21-year-old marksman ahead of the second half of the season.

The reporter added that LaLiga outfit Real Betis, who have former Leeds central defender Diego Llorente on their books, made an offer of more than £10m in an attempt to snap the Whites academy graduate up.

That offer was turned down by Leeds, who decided to keep hold of the promising young talent, but it is unknown if there was a valuation that they would have considered selling him for.

Former Leeds man Aidy White stated “It’s a lot of money for an unproven striker” after hearing the news, which is particularly true when you consider that his current Transfermarkt value is just £2.9m.

At the age of 21, however, teams are also looking at the potential of a player and Joseph still has plenty of time left ahead of him in his career to develop, which was likely reflected in the bid that Real Betis made.

Leeds will now have to hope that the Spanish forward makes a jump in his development in the next 6-12 months to justify them not cashing in for a significant sum of money, as he has had his fair share of struggles this season.

Mateo Joseph’s struggles this season

The former Espanyol attacker, who is the nephew of Emile Heskey, was made a regular part of the first-team squad in the 2023/24 campaign by Farke, but did not start any of his 20 appearances in the Championship.

Joseph did get the chance to showcase his quality from the start against Premier League giants Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup, though, and caught the eye with two goals in a 3-2 defeat for the Whites.

After the likes of Georginio Rutter and Crysencio Summerville moved on from Elland Road in the summer, the Spanish dynamo was handed a big opportunity to make himself a regular in the team.

Joseph was named in the starting line-up for the opening eight matches of the current Championship season, which provided him with a great platform to prove to Farke that he was good enough to stay in the team.

Unfortunately, the young attacker only scored one goal, which came in a 2-0 win over Hull City, and he eventually lost his place in the side to Dutchman Joel Piroe.

As you can see in the table above, the former Swansea City marksman has significantly outperformed the Spaniard in the Championship this season, as the 21-year-old striker has struggled to finish the chances that have come his way.

Joseph is not the only player who Leeds may end up regretting not selling in January, however, as they should also have ruthlessly sold Austria international Max Wober.

Why Leeds should have sold Max Wober

It was reported in January that the former RB Salzburg defender was not completely happy at Elland Road and that he was open to a move away from Elland Road.

Leeds were interested in a deal to sign Borussia Monchengladbach centre-back Nico Elvedi and Wober was touted as a possible makeweight to get a move over the line, as he had been on loan at the Bundesliga club in the 2023/24 campaign.

The Whites were unable to get that transfer done in the January transfer window and they did not opt to find another potential suitor for Wober, which meant that he remained in West Yorkshire.

Wober returned to the club last summer, after his season on loan in Germany, and has been rarely seen by Leeds supporters for various reasons. The defender has missed out on 13 matchday squads due to injury in all competitions, which is a number that is set to increase after it was confirmed on Monday that he needs knee surgery and will be out until the March international break.

He has also been an unused substitute on 14 occasions in all competitions for the Whites, which suggests that Farke does not view him as a frontline option.

As you can see in the table above, Wober is one of the top ten earners at Elland Road, despite not being a regular starter in the Championship.

The Austria international has only started two league matches and he was heavily criticised by Tony Dorigo on BBC Radio Leeds in his most recent start in the 3-3 draw with Hull City.

He said: “Wober was miles, miles off it today. You could see in his recovery, the way he was picking up people, everything was half-hearted, everything was slow. Whether he was tired, carrying an injury I don’t know.”

Leeds have not got enough back from Wober, in his performances or his availability, to justify him being one of the highest-paid members of the squad, which is why they should have ruthlessly cashed in on him in the January transfer window, if it was possible.

If his problems, on and off the pitch, continue to be an issue between now and the end of the season then there will also be a decision that has to be made in the summer window.