Joel Piroe’s Leeds United future given bleak prognosis after Birmingham City development
Graham Smyth has laid out a bleak picture for out-of-favour Leeds United striker Joel Piroe.
Piroe was Leeds‘ top scorer in their Championship-winning campaign last season but this term he has played just 14 times.
In those 14 outings, he has made four starts, the last of which came in a 3-1 FA Cup third round win over Championship side Derby County on 11 January.
The 26-year-old is yet to score this season, although he did convert his spotkick in Leeds’ penalty shootout win over Birmingham City in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday.
Piroe has been linked with an Elland Road exit this summer and now Yorkshire Evening Post reporter Smyth has outlined what is going wrong for the forward.
‘Just not happening’ for Leeds United’s Joel Piroe
Piroe started Leeds’ first two Premier League games of the season but Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha have kept him out of Daniel Farke‘s first XI since then.
He has largely been restricted to cameo roles off the bench and on other occasions Piroe has been an unused substitute.
The former Swansea City man came off the bench in the second half against Birmingham but had a frustrating outing as he spurned some good opportunities, most notably when he took too long to thread a pass to Calvert-Lewin, who was through on goal. Now, Smyth has reflected on Piroe’s situation.
He said on the Square Ball Podcast: “It’s just not happening for Joel Piroe. You can talk about rustiness all you like but the entire stadium at St. Andrew’s sensed that the ball needed to go to Calvert-Lewin earlier than it did, and he just hung on that fraction too long.
“He dwelt on it a little bit longer, which is a shame because we have seen him thread passes and cut defences open. It’s just not happening for him.”
Piroe had a lot of January interest from Premier League sides and even Scottish Premiership giants Rangers, who are also owned by the 49ers Enterprises, and Celtic.
But the forward wanted to fight for his place at Leeds in the belief that sooner or later, he would get his chance.
However, the fact that he underwhelmed against second-tier team Birmingham does not bode well for his chances going forward this season.
Why a Piroe exit from Leeds appears to be inevitable
Piroe was Leeds’ number one striker for the past two seasons. Now, he is third-choice at best.
At times, Farke has opted to play winger Noah Okafor or Brenden Aaronson behind Calvert-Lewin instead of Piroe, suggesting he may be even further down the attacking pecking order.
If Leeds stay up, with the Whites currently 15th in the Premier League, they will try and strengthen their squad ahead of next season.
And with progress, some players will be deemed surplus to requirements, as is the nature of elite football. Piroe looks set to be one such casualty.
His contract expires in 2027, and it seems very unlikely that he will force his way back into Farke’s plans. Leeds may try to cash in on him this summer, with the Yorkshire team paying more than £10million to sign him from Swansea in August 2023.
It seems that Piroe’s party with Leeds is drawing to a close. He, and Leeds fans, will hope there is one more hurrah to come.
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