'Let him work' - Leeds United striker asked for Victor Orta assessment during international duty
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The 20-year-old arrived from Espanyol in January 2022 for a sum believed to be under £1m after what then-Under 21s coach Mark Jackson called 'extensive work' by Victor Orta and his recruitment team. Joseph had other suitors but Leeds swooped six months prior to the striker hitting the free agent market and put in place a plan to develop him for the first team.
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Hide AdLast season that plan moved to the next stage as Joseph made his first sustained breakthrough into senior football under Daniel Farke. The forward made 20 Championship appearances, all off the bench, before forcing his way into the starting line-up this season. To date he has started eight of Leeds' nine league outings, scoring once and adding a trio of assists.
Joseph's potential has been recognised at international level too by not one but two countries. Originally he answered the call of England Under 20s, playing 10 times before switching allegiance to Spain, the country of his birth. The October international break will see him involved in the Under 21s squad as they take on Kazakhstan [Thursday 7.30pm] and Malta [Tuesday October 15 4pm] and as is often the case when Leeds players go away with their national teams, he has been put forward for media duties.
An interview with Spanish outlet AS saw the youngster asked about his relationship with his Uncle and former England international Emile Heskey and whether or not there was any familial pressure to support Liverpool, for whom Heskey played more than 200 times.
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Hide AdJoseph's response was emphatic enough. "In England, they only support one team and I only support Leeds," he said. "Being part of a team and then supporting Liverpool, for example, is not common."
He went on to reveal he still watches Racing Santander, with whom he spent four years as a youth, praised Arsenal's start to the Premier League season and predicted that Manchester City will struggle without Spain international Rodri, who has undergone surgery for an ACL injury.
Where the interview got a little more interesting was when he was asked to compare life in the England Under 20s squad and what he's experiencing now with Spain Under 21s. Joseph replied: "I would say that in Spain we focus a bit more on the details. Here you can see more quality in possessions, in the rondos, and we also focus more on tactics. And then there is the group, which I notice is more united, it is like a family."
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Hide AdBut then, as can be the case when players are away from their club, the interview strayed onto ground that club communication bods would rather steer clear of - particularly in the case of such a young player. Orta, even while in post at Leeds as their director of football, was a divisive figure and a lightning rod. Granted he was responsible for uniting Joseph with Leeds and at least setting the youngster on the path to where he is right now, but expecting a 20-year-old to offer an opinion on Orta's current struggles at Sevilla might be considered a little brazen, or desvergonzado in Joseph's mother tongue.
Orta has not had an easy time of it in Seville since returning there in the summer of 2023. They finished 14th in LaLiga last season, their lowest placing since the 2001 promotion to the top flight, and though they currently sit 12th Orta was 'loudly booed and jeered' at a reserve game late last month according to Mundo Deportivo. There were also chants for the board to resign in what the Spanish outlet described as a ‘monumental scolding’.
Joseph's none-too-controversial view is that patience is required and though many in Leeds might contend with his assessment of Orta's track record, he speaks as one example of the successful work the recruitment chief pulled off at Elland Road. Where Orta did wonders for Leeds was largely in the finding and obtaining of young talent with big potential for tiny fees. Crysencio Summerville, Pascal Struijk and Willy Gnonto are other shining examples of that genre.
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Hide AdJoseph said: "Looking at it from the outside, I would say let him work. He arrived last year and has made some good signings like Peque and Lukebakio . In football there is little memory, but you have to be patient, he did a great job wherever he was and I think he will return Sevilla to the place it deserves."
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