Mateo Joseph moving to Spanish football this summer has looked like a possibility for weeks, with Real Betis interest in the 21-year-old known for a while.
The Seville club were always likely to come in with low offers for the forward, but they’re almost certainly trying to sign the youngster for too low a fee and that’s not impressing Leeds United.
Should no agreement be found, Real Betis could move on to Wolves’ Fabio Silva, who spent last season on loan at Las Palmas, reports Diario de Sevilla.
A few days ago, Mateo Joseph spoke of his desire for more regular football next season, regardless of whether that’s at Leeds United or elsewhere.
Asked if he was set to move, he told the Spanish media: “The season has just ended, and we have to stop and evaluate. We’ve been promoted to the Premier League. We’ll see what the club says, but I want to play more to continue growing.”
Diario de Sevilla report Leeds United are asking for a figure over €10m, whereas Real Betis want to pay no more than €8m for the player. The newspaper use Mateo Joseph’s Transfermarkt value of €3.5m as some sort of guide, but it means nothing in reality.
Mateo Joseph is the regular starting, and regularly scoring, striker for Spain’s U21 side, and and €8m feels very low, especially given the insinuation is that Real Betis would use him much more than Leeds United.
According to Diario de Sevilla, Real Betis’ alternative is Fabio Silva, but then it’s near certainWolves would be asking for even more.
