Manor Solomon and Daniel James ensured Leeds United ran out comfortable 2-0 winners against Norwich City at Elland Road on Wednesday night. The three points got them back to the summit of the Championship and they are looking strong favourites for automatic promotion to the Premier League. While Daniel Farke would have been happy with the predictable and functional nature of their home win, the Leeds boss would be worried about one of his most important players. Joel Piroe again looked off-colour and more than not getting on the scoresheet, his overall performance against Norwich was more alarming for the Leeds support staff and fans. Farke needs the Dutchman to fire again soon and beyond him, the striker cupboard looks bare at the moment.
Leeds are motoring along as they push to get promoted to the Premier League at the end of the season. They produced a predictable but clinical performance to beat Norwich at home.
They are by far the top scorers in the Championship this season but their earmarked strikers have not been as consistent as they would have liked them to be.
Piroe is their top scorer with ten goals but the Dutchman’s form has taken a dip and has just one goal in his last five Championship appearances for Leeds.
The 25-year-old has had such scoring dips occasionally but Leeds always banked on him to get involved and create chances for his teammates in the forward line.
However, his performances in the last two games have been bereft of creativity and he has looked a passenger sometimes as the team’s number 9.
Leeds United need more from Piroe going forward
Farke is unlikely to sign a striker before the transfer window closes on 3rd February and will bank on Piroe to come up with the goods for the rest of the season.
Mateo Joseph and Patrick Bamford’s performances have meant that the Dutchman is now the number one option for the striker’s role in the team.
However, his performance in the last two games was concerning and especially his showing against Norwich should have alarm bells ringing at Elland Road.
The Norwich centre-back pairing Callum Doyle and Shane Duffy completely dominated Piroe and found it far too easy to shake him off the ball throughout 90 minutes.
He lost 80 percent of his physical duels in the game and completed only 71 percent of his passes, which displayed his lack of effectiveness in the attacking third.
The Dutchman didn’t create a single chance and none of four shots led to a goal for Leeds at Elland Road on Wednesday night.
It was a similar story against Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday when he won only three of his seven physical duels and again failed to create anything for his teammates.
Farke hopes Piroe will regain his mojo soon and start contributing again for Leeds soon as if he continues to struggle, the team will find themselves in a pickle soon.
Is it time for Mateo Joseph to get one more run in the starting eleven?
Patrick Bamford’s injury struggles mean, Leeds have no one else to turn to other than Joseph if they want to replace Piroe in the starting eleven and he has not scored since October.
Joseph has started just two games since December and has not done enough in his substitute appearances to warrant a berth in the starting eleven.
However, if Piroe continues to disappoint up front, Farke will have to consider throwing the young striker into the starting eleven at some point in the coming weeks.
Joseph needs to be ready when the opportunity comes and grab it with both hands if it comes his way. However, he would need a run of games in the starting eleven to prove himself.
One could argue that he did get that run of games at the start of the season but Joseph deserves one more chance and he could provide more of a physical presence than Piroe at this stage.
Whether he gets that opportunity remains to be seen but Joseph can’t squander this chance as Leeds could look to replace him in the summer if he continues to struggle to score goals at this level.
