Joel Piroe has been on the fringes of the Leeds United team for the majority of their Premier League campaign so far.
With Piroe’s 19 Championship goals last season, earning him the golden boot and Leeds’ promotion, it would almost be unthinkable that the 26-year-old would become a forgotten figure at Elland Road the very next season.
However, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Lukas Nmecha and even Noah Okafor being ahead of Piroe in the pecking order for gametime up top, it has quickly become a reality.
Naturally, the lack of gametime has led to speculation surrounding Piroe’s future at Elland Road, and some of his recent comments, particularly on Daniel Farke, may have just added further fuel to this fire.
Joel Piroe will surely feel betrayed by Daniel Farke
Whilst being behind Calvert-Lewin will be understandable for Piroe, given the Englishman’s superb goalscoring form this season, there is an argument he should have been used more off the bench this season ahead of Nmecha.
The fact that he is so far down the pecking order, even being behind Okafor, who is naturally a winger, must be a bitter pill to swallow for Piroe, and fans can’t blame the forward if he were to feel betrayed by the manager who delivered so much success for just last season.
In a recent interview with Voetbal International, Piroe confirmed that he is “struggling” with his lack of gametime and feels it is hard to convince Farke to play him more.
“I’m struggling, of course. Dominic Calvert-Lewin arrived last summer and is currently enjoying a period of scoring a huge number of goals. That’s impressive, especially after the years he’s had.
“You’re both teammates and competitors, and it’s good for the team that he’s performing like this. Thanks in part to him, we’re coming off a seven-match unbeaten run.
“I’ll have to be patient. I feel like I’m definitely not far off getting more minutes. But it’s sometimes difficult to convince someone to give you more chances. To show that you’re taking the right steps.”
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Joel Piroe impressed in his last cameo appearance for Leeds
Seeing Piroe on the pitch in a Leeds shirt may be a rare sight these days, but he did, in fact, impress the last time he was substituted on, which was in the game against Manchester United.
In Piroe’s eight-minute cameo appearance, he nearly scored the winning goal with his first-time effort just nestling on top of the net.
| Stat | Stat Value |
|---|---|
| Minutes Played | 8 |
| Touches | 8 |
| Shots | 2 |
| Successful Passes | 3 |
| Long Balls | 1 |
| Dribbles | 1 |
Despite Piroe having a positive impact during the game, his performance was not enough to earn him any more minutes during the game at St James’ Park in midweek against Newcastle.
If Piroe does get handed a rare start against Derby in the FA Cup on Sunday, it may be the last meaningful amount of gametime he gets all season, meaning it is an opportunity to impress Farke that he cannot afford to squander.
Could be our secret weapon for 2nd half of the season.