49ers Enterprises have enjoyed a promising first season as majority owners of Leeds United.
It is fair to say they inherited somewhat of a mess of a club upon the completion of their full buyout of Andrea Radrizzani last summer after relegation from the Premier League.
They were forced to oversee the departure of several first team players on loan, while simultaneously put together a squad ready for the Championship, appoint a new manager and rebuild completely behind-the-scenes.
Victor Orta had been a one-man band in terms of player recruitment over the last few years which is a mistake Leeds have gone onto acknowledge, and so as such, have made a number of key appointments, including Gretar Steinsson and Jordan Miles.
As long as Leeds are able to get the job done on the pitch in the last six games of the season, it should mean they are far better prepared to give the Premier League a better go next time around.
Joseph shares what he’s noticed about 49ers behind-the-scenes since their takeover of Leeds
Mateo Joseph was someone who was brought in by the previous regime in Orta and in fairness to him, his eye for young talent was always pretty good.
Despite the dislike towards Orta from supporters, he was always a popular figure inside the club and that was reflected in the amount of messages he received from players after his exit.
However, Joseph has been speaking on the latest episode of the Official Leeds United Podcast about how his future could look at Elland Road, and made specific mention of the new owners.
The 20-year-old believes it is sometimes important to take ‘one step back’ in order to go forward again, stating that the 49ers actually have some really good ideas on how to progress the club.
He said: “The first years I remember in the Prem, I really enjoyed it because you could go to the games and see Premier League games and learn about them. I didn’t think it was a bad choice because everything is a process and I knew my process was working hard to get into the team.
“Maybe if I was in the Premier League I wouldn’t get a chance, so you never know. Everything happens for a reason, now we are in the Championship and in really good shape.
“I think sometimes going one step back is better to then go two steps forward. I think the owners now and people around the club have really good ideas and it’s going to be a bright future.”
Joseph comments a promising sign for Leeds’ future under 49ers
It is not often you hear a player come out and speak on what is going on behind-the-scenes at a club, but this is definitely a positive sign for the future.
49ers have so far done everything they set out to do upon taking over last summer, and promotion would only help take that to the next level.
It would’ve been easy for them to accept big bids for the likes of Crysencio Summerville and Willy Gnonto when the interest was there, but held firm despite the outside pressure.
Providing Leeds do make it to the Premier League, it will be interesting to see how they approach it in comparison to the way the previous regime did.