Joel Piroe faces summer transfer audition as final Leeds United hurrah nears
Leeds United’s FA Cup clash with Norwich City may be Joel Piroe’s final hurrah at Elland Road.
In less than a season, Piroe has gone from being Leeds’ main man in attack, where fans serenaded him with chants of ‘No Piroe, no party!’, to an almost forgotten figure at Elland Road.
The 19 goals he scored on Leeds‘ way to Championship title glory last May feels an awful long time ago now, with the 26-year-old barely getting a sniff under Daniel Farke this season.
The former Swansea City man had a wealth of January interest but the forward was content to bide his time in a bid to get more minutes in the second half of the season.
From Leeds’ view, it makes sense to keep him as a back-up, particularly as they failed to sign Jorgen Strand Larsen in January, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha have a patchy injury record.
In a season of very few highs, Piroe will hope for another crack at the whip, this time against Norwich on Sunday.
Joel Piroe will likely have chance to impress ahead of possible Leeds exit
Piroe started up front for Leeds against Everton and Arsenal in their first two games of the season way back in August but hasn’t started in the Premier League since then.
The former Netherlands Under-20 international is yet to score this season, despite also being given starts in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, but the fact that he wasn’t in the starting XI for the Birmingham City fourth round FA Cup win last month was telling.
For all the times Farke has praised Piroe, calling him one of the best finishers he has ever worked with, the German seemingly does not trust the Dutchman like he did at Championship level.
He isn’t quick enough to threaten defences, nor is he strong enough to outmuscle centre-backs, something Nmecha and Calvert-Lewin can do between them.
Sunday’s home game against Norwich may be Piroe’s last chance to start a game for Leeds. His contract expires in 2027, but there is an option to extend that another year, and a parting of the ways seems inevitable, especially if they stay up this season.
If the Canaries pull off a fifth-round upset, Piroe is very unlikely to be in a starting XI again this term. And if he isn’t given game time, that may convince potential suitors to look elsewhere, rather than pluck for a player who has barely featured in 2025-26.
If Piroe is handed an opportunity against Norwich, he simply has to take it. This could even be a summer audition for a better transfer move. A first goal of the season could give him some extra minutes in the coming months but a disappointing display could relegate him to the fringes even more.
So far, it seems Piroe is in the liminal zone of being deemed too good for the Championship but not good enough for the Premier League. And he is running out of time to debunk that narrative. Hopefully for him, Piroe will get one last chance to shine at Leeds.
Daniel Farke faces selection dilemma vs Norwich City
Following Leeds’ disappointing 1-0 home loss to Sunderland on Tuesday, which now leaves them just three points above the relegation zone, Farke has a big selection dilemma ahead of facing Norwich.
Does Farke ring the changes in a bid to give his best players something of a breather, while trusting some of his fringe men, who didn’t exactly shine against Birmingham last time out?
Or, will he back his first-teamers to return to winning ways and see off a team who are not far above the Championship relegation zone?
MOT Leeds News has selected its predicted team for the Norwich game, with Piroe backed to start, alongside fellow fringe players Ao Tanaka, Dan James and Sean Longstaff.
Goalkeeper Lucas Perri could also come back into the starting XI after being usurped by Karl Darlow, while regulars such as Anton Stach, Gabriel Gudmundsson and Pascal Struijk have been predicted to feature as well.
Ethan Ampadu changed the game at Birmingham after being brought on at half-time, so don’t be surprised to see him play some part in the contest. A win could re-energise Leeds but a defeat could have wider ramifications on their season.
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