Leeds United progressed through to the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday after a 1-0 win over League Two outfit Harrogate Town at Elland Road.
The Whites secured the victory thanks to a second half goal from Largie Ramazani, who headed home from Manor Solomon’s cross, as they struggled to break down the lower league outfit for much of the match.
It was far from a perfect performance from Daniel Farke’s side and the German head coach may not have been pleased with some of the individual showings on display from some of the fringe players who needed to step up.
One Leeds man who did not make the most of his big opportunity to shine was centre-forward Mateo Joseph, in the absence of Joel Piroe and Patrick Bamford.
Mateo Joseph’s Leeds struggles
The Spain U21 international had a chance to show Farke that he deserves more minutes and starts in the Championship in the second half of the season, but he failed to take it.
Journalist Adam Pope praised the forward’s endeavour during the match but described his performance as “wasteful”, which has been a recurring theme for him this season.
LeedsLive awarded him a rating of 5/10 for his display and noted that the striker ‘struggled’ with the physicality of the three Harrogate defenders.
|
24/25 Championship |
Mateo Joseph |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
26 |
|
Starts |
11 |
|
xG |
4.30 |
|
Goals |
2 |
|
Big chances missed |
6 |
|
Stats via Sofascore |
|
As you can see in the table above, the academy graduate has been incredibly wasteful in the second tier this season, underperforming his xG tally by more than two goals.
It has been a consistent issue for the attacker and it is one that has prevented him from being a regular starter ahead of Piroe, and this latest ‘wasteful’ showing means that Farke must surely dip into the market to sign Mergim Berisha.
Why Leeds should sign Mergim Berisha
It was recently reported that Leeds are interested in a deal to sign the Hoffenheim forward, who could be available on an 18-month loan with the option to make it a permanent move next year.
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Berisha, who has been described as being a “clinical finisher” by analysts Football Chatters, has only started five matches in the Bundesliga since the start of last season due to suffering an ACL injury in 2023.
The £56k-per-week forward’s form before that long-term lay-off suggests that the quality is there for him to come in and offer more to the club’s promotion push than Joseph in the second half of the season, if Farke can help him to get back to his best.
In the 2022/23 Bundesliga campaign, the Germany international scored nine goals from 8.13 xG across 23 appearances for Augsburg, which speaks to his ability as a finisher in a major European league.
If Leeds can strike a loan deal for the 26-year-old marksman then he could be an excellent addition to the side, provided the attacker can get back to his 2022/23 form by playing regular football again.
Joseph’s performance against Harrogate, and his displays in the Championship more generally, suggest that a new striker could be needed and Berisha seems to fit the bill.
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