There are few players as calm as Leeds United’s Joel Piroe.
The Dutch striker is so relaxed that, at times, it is easy to wonder if he is awake, or if anything at all could get him riled. It is a good quality for a forward faced with the pressures of being the leading scorer at a promotion-chasing side.
The 25-year-old has faced competition from Mateo Joseph this season, as well as a failed experiment as a No 10, but is showing he is Leeds’ best striker as the campaign reaches its halfway mark. Piroe’s first double this season in the 2-0 win away to Stoke City ended a poor run of results on the road for Daniel Farke’s side and took Piroe’s tally to nine, three clear of Leeds’ second-highest scorer, Brenden Aaronson.
Two clinical finishes secured the points — the first showing Piroe’s potential for brilliance and the second his reliability to take simple chances — and returned his team to the top of the Championship after Burnley had won away against Sheffield United.
Piroe’s place as the focal point of the attack in Farke’s system remains debated by Leeds fans, particularly during the five-game goalless run he ended at Stoke, but his composure sets him apart. Joseph has potential and offers plenty with his all-round play, particularly with his energy in pressing and ability to bring other creative players into the game — but with two league goals from an expected goals tally of 3.7, the numbers suggest he is yet to become as clinical.
Patrick Bamford is a long way from the conversation when it comes to competition for the sole starting spot up front, only getting a handful of minutes at a time from the bench since his return in September from a lengthy knee injury.
Farke has not been afraid to rotate between Piroe and Joseph since the start of the season, with good performances from both when benched and brought on later in the game. The manager’s communication and relationship with his strikers has fostered a healthy desire for them to make their mark when called upon.
Farke at full time against Stoke (Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images)
At 21, Joseph still has plenty of time to refine his game and the competition with Piroe will only aid his development. In Piroe’s four Championship seasons with Leeds and former club Swansea City, he has scored 22, 19 and 13 in addition to this season’s tally (not including play-offs). He found his feet quickly in England after leaving PSV in 2021. His performances at Swansea helped them finish 15th and 10th and earned his £10million ($12.5m) plus add-ons move to Leeds in the summer of 2023.
His four assists have been a meaningful contribution too, putting his goal involvement at one every other game on average, a respectable return given the spread of goals throughout Farke’s side. Leeds are a team built from all-round consistency, less reliant on a couple of standout performers than last season, when Crysencio Summerville’s tally of 20 goals was six clear of second-top-scorer Piroe. Now he is being used in his best position, Piroe is among the most reliable for delivering in his role.
Piroe’s languid running style and slower pressing sometimes lead to accusations of laziness among supporters but only because the contrast to Joseph’s energy in those areas is so stark. Leeds’ first goal against Stoke was a good example, with Piroe’s slower speed as he went through on goal allowing goalkeeper Viktor Johansson to get a glove on the ball before the United striker smashed home the chance from a more difficult angle.
“I saw they left the short corner open so I thought, ‘This is not a chance I’m going to miss’. So I had to take it,” Piroe told Sky Sports after a man-of-the-match performance that saw him lead the match for dribbles (six), touches in the opposition box (11) and outshoot the entire Stoke team (four shots to City’s collective three).
🥶 “Piroe! Cool as ever!” pic.twitter.com/5hd35HwfeT
— Leeds United (@LUFC) December 26, 2024
Stoke are struggling for form, this was their fifth defeat in six, and Johansson has faced more shots on goal than any other Championship goalkeeper this season (117) but Piroe delivered when needed with a well-taken header from Dan James’ cross for Leeds’ second.
Farke is blessed to have goals throughout his team and healthy competition between his strikers, which is getting the best out of Joseph and Piroe. In the Dutchman, he has a player cool enough to handle important moments and willing to pull his weight out of position when needed, as he did when playing at No 10 to mixed success in the past year.
Now in his natural position, Piroe is enjoying himself.
“We don’t have to speak about Joel Piroe,” Farke told Sky Sports. “Name me one player who has scored more goals in the Championship in the last three and a half years. He scored I think for Swansea 22 and 19, last season for us though he didn’t play always and played a lot in midfield he scored 13 goals.
“He is pretty close again to not just double figures but with a proper goal amount. Joel is a key player. We are Leeds United so we have lots of competition.
“It won’t be like for a different team where you would play each and every second and win the Golden Boot but we need his goals and today he has delivered again.”
(Top photo: Piroe celebrates his second goal with James. Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images)
