Leeds United centre-forward Joel Piroe is one of the players who has suffered from the club’s promotion from the Championship to the Premier League.
The Whites centre-forward ended the 2024/25 campaign with a return of 19 goals in the second tier to help the club to the league title, whilst also winning the Golden Boot.
He was a prolific scorer in the second tier, leading the line brilliantly for Daniel Farke, and he would surely have been the first-choice number nine once again if they were still in the Championship.
After promotion to the Premier League, though, Leeds decided to bolster their frontline with several signings in the summer transfer window last year.
Lukas Nmecha arrived on a free transfer from Wolfsburg and Dominic Calvert-Lewin joined after his contract with fellow top-flight side Everton came to an end.
Why Leeds should sell Joel Piroe this summer
Should the Whites avoid relegation back down to the Championship, and they are currently on course to do so, Piroe should be sold when the summer transfer window opens for business.
The left-footed forward, who made his international debut for Suriname against Bolivia this month, has only started two of his 12 appearances in the Premier League this season, losing 82% of his duels.
Piroe’s only goal in 17 appearances in all competitions this season came against Championship side Norwich City in the FA Cup recently, as he is yet to score his first goal in the top-flight.
The former Swansea City centre-forward has failed to prove that he has the quality to be a regular starter in the Premier League for the Whites, but he has still been making matchday squads and come off the bench in two of the last four league matches.
Despite being involved in some games off the bench, Piroe has not done enough to suggest that he will be a regular in the side next season, which is why Farke should move on from the Dutch-born striker in the summer.
His exit would then free up room for the club to go out and sign another forward who may be more likely to make an impact in the final third in the Premier League.
The Leeds flop who has been worse than Joel Piroe
Whilst Piroe should be let go at the end of the season because of his failure to make the step up to the top-flight, there is another player at Elland Road who must not even start another game before the end of the campaign.
In the January transfer window, the Whites decided to dip in to the market to bolster their options at the top end of the pitch with the siging of Facundo Buonanotte on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion until the end of the season.
The Argentine star scored five goals and provided three assists on loan at Leicester in the 2024/25 campaign, which made him seem like a shrewd signing on paper, but he had also just come off the back of rarely playing on loan at Chelsea.
Unfortunately, Buonanotte has not shown the quality that he displayed during his time with the Foxes last year, and his lack of minutes on the pitch reflects that.
Farke has not even picked him for the matchday squad, despite being fit and available, for any of the last five Premier League games, and TEAMtalk’s James Marshment described him as being “overlooked” by the manager.
|
Since signing for Leeds |
|
|---|---|
|
25/26 Premier League |
Buonanotte |
|
Fulham |
Unused substitute |
|
Everton |
5 |
|
Arsenal |
19 |
|
Nottingham Forest |
Not in squad |
|
Chelsea |
Unused substitute |
|
Aston Villa |
Not in squad |
|
Man City |
Not in squad |
|
Sunderland |
Not in squad |
|
Crystal Palace |
Not in squad |
|
Brentford |
Not in squad |
He is even worse than Piroe, who has only missed one matchday squad, through injury, all season, and that is also evidenced by their respective exploits in the FA Cup.
The Suriname international scored against Norwich whilst Buonanotte was an unused substitute against the Canaries, after producing a poor display against Birmingham in the previous round.
Leeds beat the Blues on penalties after a 1-1 draw, but the Brighton loanee started the game and was withdrawn at half-time after registering zero shots, zero dribbles, zero key passes, and a duel success rate of 20%.
Buonanotte did not take his opportunity to impress, whilst Piroe did against Norwich, and that may be why he has not featured in a matchday squad in the Premier League since that match.
Now, the 21-year-old flop must not start another game this season because he has seemingly not done enough in training or in matches to prove to Farke that he can make a big impact on the pitch.
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