re: 2026 / 2027 Leeds United season-long thread HMS Consolidate

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I’d like to know why there is all this hype around Jean-Matteo. I do my weekly shopping in a local supermarket and every week, the topic is Jean-Matteo. I spoke to a boy who said ‘Ah Daniel, you have to bring Jean-Matteo on because he's brilliant’. I said you know him? ‘No’. Where have you seen him? ‘Haven’t seen him, I've just heard it!’ I love Jean-Matteo, I don’t want to change it but the problem we have is the perception of this story. Everyone loves a winger but I’ve spoken 10 times about the situation when we signed him. If you make too much hype around a young lad, this can’t be a success. I’m asked about him in every press conference, as much as I like him, being in the spotlight is not healthy for him. Signed him on the last day of the window, truth is we were trying to sign someone who can make an immediate impact, tried everything but the club decided we can’t spend the money, Jean-Matteo was full of potential for the long-term and on the last day, an opportunity arose. He was on the bench for Frankfurt at the end of last season, Frankfurt decided maybe he wouldn’t make a big impact for them this season. We don’t expect an immediate impact but we believe in this guy, top character and great to work with. We’re willing to give him a spot and work with him. He needs to add physicality, improve decision-making and finishing, if he improves during the season he can compete for minutes. If this happens, then we have a bargain. If we expect him now to make a huge impact, this is nothing to do with reality. I’ve worked in Bundesliga, it’s easier to make an impact and we can’t expect to sign a young bench player from the Bundesliga and he is for us an immediate impact. If we sell this story further on, it’s not good for him. He needs to train with consistency and he’s doing it, a joy to work with him and he works unbelievably hard. But if we put in his head the bad manager doesn’t play you, then he stops working. He needs to improve and develop but this would never happen if he thought he was already on Raphinha level. I’m not sure if many people knew Jean-Matteo Bahoya before but I knew him, I love him, I’ll go give him a big hug after this press conference but we can’t overload young players with a perception they can deliver. I want to give project a chance but we have to be patient. When I arrived I had Georgi Rutter here, superstar in Hoffenheim, we spent £40m and when I walked in everyone thought he wasn’t good enough for this level. I’ve always worked with young players, I took care of Georgi, watered him like a little plant and gave him a hug then he was flourishing and we sold him for an unbelievable fee. But we signed him for a record fee and you could see how difficult it was for him. How should it work now for Jean-Matteo? If you want to sign an immediate impact winger in this age group, Said El Mala £60m was not enough - do you think we’ve found the only jewel who costs no transfer fee and he can cut the Premier League into pieces? I like that we believe in our players and love to see him, but if we put so much expectation on him it will never be a success. If you’d like to help make a success of him, I just ask very politely not to ask me in each and every press conference and not in the supermarket. Give him time, let him breathe then we can develop him. No one in this club who loves and backs him more than me, but let’s stop this unbelievable hype. Believe me, it’s not healthy.

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