‘Leeds facing Rodrigo Muniz pressure amid transfer bombshell’
Daniel Farke has faced questions regarding Mateo Joseph’s absence from Leeds United’s training camp in Germany amid links to Rodrigo Muniz.
Leeds are preparing for life back in the Premier League after winning the Championship last season, with a whopping 95 goals scored and 100 points accrued.
Joseph only scored three of those goals, but has six goals in seven caps for Spain’s U21s following on from two strikes in five caps for England’s U20s.
The 21-year-old is a highly-regarded talent and has recently been linked with La Liga side Real Betis.
Daniel Farke addresses Mateo Joseph absence
Leeds are currently in Germany as they prepare for their first match back in the Premier League at home to Everton on 18 August.
However, Joseph has not turned up to that training camp, with manager Farke sensationally revealing the striker insists he’s ‘not in the mental state’ to join the team — against his manager’s wishes.
“It was actually the plan to have him here,” Farke admitted (BBC, 23 July).
“With him, the situation is quite clear. We really value and rate him – otherwise we wouldn’t have played him, especially in the beginning of the last successful campaign ahead of a golden boot winner in Joel Piroe and an experienced striker like Patrick Bamford.
“Nevertheless, he came to me and asked for a new challenge and would like to move. He has also hinted that he prefers a move to Spain due to his Spanish roots. That was his call.
“We have invested a lot in him – time, money and backing.
“He’s on a long-term contract and we value him. This is for our key people and the board to decide the value. The truth is that no other club has met our expectations yet.
“Because of that, we expected him to train and travel with us. He mentioned that he didn’t feel ready for the trip to Stockholm. I accepted this because he started later with training. The day after, he said he didn’t feel ready to travel to play the friendlies here in Germany.
“It’s not a situation I like. I’ve spoken honestly to him and strongly recommended him to be professional but he said he’s not in a mental state to do this.
“What should I do? I can’t call the police to drag him here on the training pitch. It was his decision.”
Rodrigo Muniz signing could clear the path for Joseph
Football Insider verdict
Farke clearly doesn’t want to lose Joseph. However, he may be more inclined to let him leave if Leeds can get a deal done for Rodrigo Muniz.
The Brazilian has scored 17 Premier League goals for Fulham across the last two seasons combined, with that total increasing to 21 across all competitions.
However, Muniz has just one year remaining on his contract at Craven Cottage and faces uncertainty regarding his place in the team.
| Fulham stats | Rodrigo Muniz |
| Appearances | 97 |
| Goals | 26 |
| Assists | 3 |
Veteran striker Raul Jimenez enjoyed a resurgence in 2024/25, scoring a team-high 12 Premier League goals and 14 across all competitions.
What’s more, Marco Silva is thought to be in the market for an upgrade at No.9 to help the Cottagers consolidate on their 11th-place finish in the Premier League next season.
Muniz would be a welcome addition to the Leeds forward line and could clear the path for the wantaway Joseph to get his move.