Joël Piroe scored the crucial second goal that secured Leeds United’s 2-0 win over Cardiff City on Saturday. This performance has made one journalist wonder if it might be time to build the team around the Dutch forward.
Leeds managed just four shots in the final 45 minutes, and it wasn’t until Piroe found the back of the net in the 87th minute that the Whites could rest easy.
Goal scoring has been an issue for the Whites this season as they look to replace the production that Georginio Rutter and Crysencio Summerville left behind after departing this summer.
Could Piroe play a more significant role with LUFC DATA recently spotlighted on X that Piroe has now scored four of his seven goals for Leeds in 2024 after the 75th minute of matches as a substitute.
Can Piroe be Leeds United’s starting striker?
With Piroe being a scoring threat off the bench, the question is now being raised can the player transition his production as a substitute to the starting 11.
“The Dutchman’s clinical finishing from his first half-chance in the Cardiff game raises the question of whether he should get another run at No. 9,” The Athletic’s Nancy Froston wrote. “The reality is, after a year of trying to make him a No. 10 or second striker, [Daniel] Farke has not seen Piroe as the solo striker he needs. But as Leeds fail to inspire going forward, there is a case to be made for building a side around a player capable of getting the job done.”
After the victory, Farke spoke about Piroe and noted that the striker has a quality that not many in the Championship have.
“We have to be more like Joel Piroe, all of us,” Farke said on Saturday after the win. “He’s probably the best finisher in the league. So happy we have him. (I) want us to be more greedy to score goals… The greediness to score goals – perhaps because I was a striker in my real life in football, I would have died to score a goal – this mentality is something we need to add.
“They have to learn it, I will keep going to address it. The chances we missed in the first half and second half. We all have to be a bit more like Joel Piroe, probably the best finisher in this league, one chance, one goal, he deserves more praise. It’s tricky to criticise something but this value for goals, to put chances away and not just enjoy our dominance.”
