Farke can forget about Szmodics after Leeds star’s 9/10 Hannover display

There’s only so much you can take away from friendly games from the perspective of a fan, with poor results before the season starting never reading well, but the cobwebs could then be blown straight off back in the bread and butter of Championship action.

Leeds United have performed well so far this pre-season, overcoming League Two opponents Harrogate Town 3-0 in comfortable fashion, before venturing out to Germany for a training camp and the opportunity to test themselves against tricky opponents from further afield.

Mateo Joseph has particularly impressed those watching on this off-season, with the young Spanish hotshot potentially now kicking down the door for more first-team chances this campaign to come, after netting two quickfire goals against Hannover 96 last time out.

Joseph’s performances so far this pre-season

Away from firing home two second-half goals in that behind closed doors 4-1 win against Leeds’ Bundesliga 2 opponents recently, Joseph also shone back in Yorkshire when facing off against Simon Weaver’s men.

He wouldn’t get on the scoresheet against the lower league hosts, but he would set up Junior Firpo for the opening strike of this contest at the Exercise Stadium, after quick feet from Daniel James played the bright 20-year-old into space, for the ex-Barcelona man to then convert from close-range.

Joseph has very much taken his chance in the spotlight so far, with Patrick Bamford nowhere to be found in and around Daniel Farke’s teams picked so far owing to injury concerns, with his impact against Hannover steering the Whites to a second friendly win on the trot.

His positive showing in that behind closed doors friendly even saw Leeds Live journalist Beren Cross reward the tenacious youngster with a 9/10 rating in his post-match thoughts, describing the academy product’s performance as ‘so impressive’ and yet another top display that could see him push for a more prominent first-team spot when competitive football comes into view.

Linking up with new signing Jayden Bogle for the final goal of the afternoon versus Hannover will surely excite Leeds fans, but there might well be less of a need now for the Championship promotion hopefuls to pursue any more lethal finishers in the form of Blackburn Rovers star Sammie Szmodics, if Joseph has a breakout campaign to come.

Joseph’s importance next season

The in-demand Riversiders attacker could well fancy a move up to the Premier League over another season in the second tier anyway, as Ipswich Town attempt to get the on-fire forward in through the door this summer, having bagged a ridiculous 27 league goals from 44 games last season.

Joseph won’t be as prolific in front of goal, you imagine, and that would be an unnecessary expectation to burden the homegrown gem with, but he could still play an important role in Leeds’ attacking game going forward, away from Farke and Co having to splash cash lavishly.

Only averaging 12 minutes on the pitch in the second tier last campaign, there could be some regrets from Farke’s end that he didn’t chuck Joseph into games more often, over a leggy Bamford who struggled in the latter stages of the season to add to Leeds’ firepower.

When Joseph was on the pitch, he looked lively and brave, showcased in his whirlwind showing away at Watford in March, where he needed just a minute of action on the Vicarage Road turf to fire home.

Stating that he hopes this season to come sees him explode even more in the men’s game, Leeds fans would love to cheer on another young star straight off their production line, as promotion is eyed up once more.