Joel Piroe dubbed Leeds United ‘victim’ as ‘concern’ mooted at Elland Road
Paul Robinson is not concerned by Joel Piroe’s dip in form for Leeds United, insisting that the main problem is the team’s general “drop-off” in recent weeks.
The 24-year-old arrived at Elland Road on a £10.5million deal from Swansea City last summer, as per The Athletic, and has notched 12 Championship goals, though he has scored just once since mid-February.
In addition to this, Piroe has started just two of the last 11 league matches for the Whites, with Patrick Bamford being deployed in the striker position by Daniel Farke.
Speaking exclusively to MOT Leeds News, Robinson believes Piroe has been a “victim” of the number of talents at Elland Road this season, having found it hard to break into the starting XI recently.
“I don’t think it’s a concern specifically for him, I think it’s a concern for the team and the drop-off. When you set yourself standards, it’s difficult when there is a drop-off,” he said.
“Piroe was excellent at the start of the season, and he’s had an indifferent second half of the season, but he’s got 12 goals and three assists, which puts him third in the list for Leeds – Summerville, James, then Piroe.
“He hasn’t played all the time, he hasn’t started every game, sometimes he’s played as a 10 or out-wide, and I think that does affect players at times. When you are a striker or a 10, and you’re not playing every week or in your favoured position, it does.
“You’ve got the likes of Bamford, Rutter, Piroe, Dan James, Summerville, who is taking on the burden of scoring goals. When you’ve got that quality, you get one or two opportunities in the team and if you don’t score, the manager will change it. I think he’s been a victim of that.”
Joel Piroe must step up amid Leeds United injury update
Having missed the 4-0 defeat to QPR at Loftus Road on Friday 26 April, Bamford could be unavailable once again as Leeds welcome Southampton to Elland Road on the final day of the season.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Thursday 2 May, Farke admitted that there will be a late decision made over whether the striker will feature against the Saints.
This would be the perfect opportunity for Piroe to step up and deliver for the team after a big-money move from Wales last summer, and help clinch automatic promotion to the Premier League.
As Robinson alludes to, Leeds have seen a drastic change in form, losing three of their last five matches, which is likely to see them drop into the Championship play-offs.
If this were the case, Piroe could become a hero and fire the Whites to promotion through the dreaded play-offs and put his disappointing form behind him.
In other Leeds United news, a teenage sensation is now set to snub Manchester United in order to move to Elland Road.
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