When Jean Matteo Bahoya left Eintracht Frankfurt on loan on deadline day after all, the club looked set to make a lot of money from him sooner or later. Now that deal looks increasingly shaky.
Leeds United paid a two million euro loan fee for Bahoya in the summer. Their deal with Eintracht also includes an obligation to buy for 30 million euros, triggered when the 21-year-old makes his tenth competitive appearance.
Reaching that mark seemed straightforward in England, with two additional cup competitions. Eintracht's bosses surely did not expect Bahoya to fall short of it, but that is now a possibility.
So far, Bahoya has played just eleven minutes across three Premier League matches and spent the full 90 minutes on the bench five times. Coach Daniel Farke has his reasons.
Farke told The Athletic that "every time" he has done his weekly shop at the local supermarket over the past three weeks, someone has asked about Bahoya's situation and urged him to give the young Frenchman more playing time.
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Why isn't Bahoya playing for Leeds United?
"Last time, an older man said: 'Daniel, bring on that young French winger. He's outstanding.' I said: 'Do you know him?' 'No, I don't know him.' 'Then where have you seen him?' 'I haven't seen him, I've only heard about him.' 'Ah, you've heard about him,'" Farke recounted. In his view, Bahoya is not yet physically ready for the Premier League.
"He needs to add a bit more physicality to his game. He needs to improve his decision-making, his finishing and several aspects of his game," he said of the attacking winger. "If we expect him to have a big impact immediately and make the difference for us at this level, then I'm sorry, but that has nothing to do with reality."
Bahoya had not been an undisputed regular at Eintracht in the Bundesliga over a sustained period, either. Germany's top flight is "a good product, but it's easier to make a difference at Bundesliga level than in the best league in the world, at Premier League level", the 50-year-old German explained. "We can't expect to sign a young player from the bench of a Bundesliga club who then immediately makes the difference and becomes one of our most important players."
For Bahoya to become that player, Farke believes he needs time. He pointed to Georginio Rutter's comparable situation three years ago. Rutter moved from Hoffenheim to Leeds in January 2023 for a fee of 40.5 million euros and initially struggled to live up to expectations of him as a "superstar".
Getty ImagesBahoya has a prominent predecessor at Leeds United
"I looked after him, watered him like a little plant, hugged him every day and then he blossomed. Everyone sang his name and we sold him for an incredible transfer fee," recalled Farke, who has been in charge at Leeds since summer 2023. Rutter eventually moved to Brighton & Hove Albion for 46.7 million in August 2024. Under Fabian Hürzeler, he is only a high-quality substitute in regular Premier League action, but regularly gets plenty of playing time in the Conference League.
Farke now wants the same patience with Bahoya that he showed with Rutter. "I'm simply asking, very politely: don't ask me at every press conference, and hopefully not in the supermarket either when I'm buying my milk, my orange juice and my dark German rye bread, how good this young lad is," he said. "Give him time, let him breathe, let him work with me, and then we can develop him."
Bahoya joined Eintracht from Angers for eight million euros in January 2024 and subsequently had spells as a regular. In his final season at Eintracht, he made 37 competitive appearances (four goals, four assists, 1,646 minutes), starting 18 times.