Leeds United youth international eyes senior star's place in side with vow and personal boost

A Leeds United youth international has hailed the influence of a senior teammate - but is ultimately eyeing his place in the team.

Twenty-year-old striker Mateo Joseph has been boosted by signing a new long term contract at Leeds, penning terms until the summer of 2028 following his recent breakthrough into the first team squad.

Spanish-born England youth international Joseph joined Leeds from Espnayol in January 2022 and says that watching Whites no 9 Patrick Bamford has been particularly helpful in improving his hold up play.

Now Joseph admits he ultimately wants Bamford's place in the team but hailed "healthy competition" as the ambitious youngster outlined his next steps.

"I think my game has developed a lot," said Joseph in an interview with LUTV.

"Obviously coming from another country it is another football style so I have to get used to it, maybe playing with the 18s some times, the 21s, so I have developed a lot.

"For example, my back-up play, I didn't know how to it well and now I have learnt from the likes of Patrick for example who is really good at holding up the ball and getting to see him every day is good for me."

Pressed on ultimately wanting Bamford's place in the side, Joseph smiled: "Yeah, obviously! But I think it is healthy competition because we try to do the best we can for the team and we train hard, we play and we try to do things well and it’s a good thing for the club and for the team because we work hard and we are going to raise the levels."

Pressed on his next steps, Joseph vowed to work even harder than before. He added: "It's about trying to get back (to the Premier League), just because of the club. The club deserves to be there, but we work every day just with one thing in mind, it's just winning the next game and having that winning mentality.

"And for me,  I am going to work as hard as I can like I did when I came. I have seen the improvement but I am still going to work hard, even more, to get the rewards that you see when you work hard, they come.

“It feels great to be part of a huge club like Leeds United.

“This (signing new deal) is one of the happiest days of my life for me and my family, I just want to return the confidence that the club gave me, by on the pitch working hard."