Mateo Joseph decision made - could miss start of Leeds United 2024/25 campaign

Leeds United forward Mateo Joseph has been officially granted permission to play for Spain at this summer's Olympic Games, despite playing for England at youth level.

Bridging the gap between the European Championships and the new season, Paris' Olympics will see the summer of football continue with 16 nations taking place in this event's finals. A number of countries were waiting on confirmation on from the International Olympic Committee regarding athlete eligibility, which 11 matters have now been resolved.

One of those was Spain, who have been hoping to call up Joseph on the back of his breakout campaign at Elland Road. The 20-year-old made 26 appearances for Daniel Farke's side last season, scoring three goals.

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Earlier in his youth he had represented the Three Lions at Under-20 level. The Santander-born striker, who qualified through his English father, earned 10 caps for Ian Foster's side, including three appearances at last year's Under-20 World Cup in Argentina.

He had recently changed national eligibility through FIFA and since gone on to play twice for Spain's Under-21s, and now this decision has been officially recognised by the IOC, it allows the youngster to feature at this summer's tournament.

The Spanish enter the group stage against Egypt, Uzbekistan and the Dominican Republic. Ultimately, they will be hoping to go one better than Tokyo in 2021, when a team featuring the likes of Barcelona's Pedri, RB Leipzig's Dani Olmo and Bilbao's Unai Simon finished runners-up to Brazil.

The Olympic football finals begin on July 24, two days before the Paris games' opening ceremony, and concludes with a final on August 9. Leeds ' 2024/25 Championship season is due to start on the weekend of August 10/11, meaning Joseph could miss the opening round at least.