Leeds United
REVEALED! Leeds United young Star fighting With words and career choice, What To Know
A few months back Patrick Bamford was discussing confidence on his BBC podcast and said that all footballers have a ‘little bit of arrogance’ and a belief that lets them back themselves no matter what. Bamford was one of three men Joseph found in his way last season as he attempted to break into senior football. Boss Daniel Farke used Georginio Rutter, Joel Piroe and Bamford in the centre forward role, while their 20-year-old understudy had to bide his time after a pre-season injury that disrupted his start to the campaign.
Eventually he began to get minutes, regular but brief cameos in which he showed enough to justify Leeds’ excitement over his potential. But even if he racked up 20 Championship appearances, none of them were starts and Farke continued to put his faith in more experienced players. There was evident frustration for Joseph, as there would be for any young player. Others in his position, when faced with road blocks at their parent club, have chosen another path and sought loans or permanent exits. Joseph might have done the same, particularly when his hopes of representing Spain at the Olympics were dashed by Leeds’ preference for keeping their players for the all-important Championship preparations. Instead, he’s backing himself.
“I think everything happens for a reason,” he told BBC Leeds
Them’s fighting words and they will land, no doubt, with Bamford, Piroe and of course Farke. Joseph’s boldness is evidently underpinned by more than bombast, entitlement or the impetuousness of youth. He says he’s been putting in the hard yards to back up his belief that now is his time and that he’s good enough to be considered on the level of his elder team-mates.
“I haven’t stopped training to be honest, like everything I can see I have to improve I will do it,” he said. “Every spare time I have, even from the point of reading something about other players or other athletes in order to learn how to train better or to get better in my style of play. I will do it and I’ve been doing that. Obviously now in training against players, defenders like Pascal, Joe or Ethan or even you can see that you manage better against them. And I’m really happy with my development. I’m not sure about [being able to teach Bamford and Piroe a thing or two] but I feel like I’m there in that level. Let’s see if I can prove it on the pitch.”
. “So I prepare myself for this season like I never did. Well, I always work really hard, but I think I have to take this season with all I have and I think this is going to be my season. So let’s say that. I think I did a lot of improvement during [last] season. You could see the games went through. Obviously everyone wants to play every minute, it’s impossible, but I think it was a good season for me in order to be in a professional team already, in order to learn some things. There was a really good team so it was difficult to get into it. But in the end, I made my space and this year I’m going from there.”
What might please Farke and the Leeds hierarchy most about Joseph’s pre-season interview, beyond a confidence level that a striker always needs, is that he can see the merits in remaining at Elland Road and on his current pathway. That’s why he hasn’t, thus far, attempted to get to where he wants to go via another route.
“Just trust the club, they gave me the opportunity to be in the first team,” he said. “They told me I have to be patient. I thought it was a really good choice because when you go to [another club] you never really know what can happen. Everything happens for a reason. I’m really happy I stayed and I was calm and waiting for my opportunity. But I think I took it every time they gave me and I’m really happy for that. But we’ve got a job to do because we didn’t get promoted last year. So this year has to be one [better].”
