Leeds United signed off their pre-season in style on Saturday, thrashing Augsburg 4-0 as they now turn their attention to next weekend’s Premier League opener against Nottingham Forest.
The club’s focus will also return to the transfer market, with Daniel Farke and the recruitment team still looking to strengthen a few areas before the window closes.
Leeds have agreed a deal to sign Nico Elvedi from Borussia Mönchengladbach, with Sebastiaan Bornauw set to leave Elland Road and join Hamburg this summer.
The Whites also want to add another striker, but they first need to sort out Joel Piroe’s future. Leeds are unlikely to bring in another forward until they know whether the forward will stay or leave.
Read More: Leeds United transfer nears completion as medical booked for Monday
Leeds United star set to join West Ham
Joel Piroe’s agent warned Leeds that they need to compromise on their £16m asking price if they want to move the forward on before the window closes.
It seems the recent meetings between Leeds and his representatives worked, as according to Voetbal International, West Ham are set to sign the Leeds striker.
The negotiations are at the final stages, and the forward is close to completing a switch to the London Stadium.
West Ham are in the market for a striker, and they initially made a move to sign AZ Alkmaar striker Troy Parrott this summer, who was their top target.
However, they never really managed to get close to AZ’s asking price and eventually withdrew from the talks to shift their focus to Piroe.
The Hammers are close to finalising a deal with Leeds to sign the striker in the ongoing summer transfer window.
West Ham want to win back promotion to the Premier League next season and are closing in on a forward who was the Championship’s top scorer when Leeds got promoted in 2025.
This will also allow Leeds to sign a solid back-up striker for Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Daniel Farke never trusted Joel Piroe in the Premier League
Joel Piroe finished the 2024/25 campaign as the Championship’s top scorer and was a major reason behind Leeds United’s promotion.
But Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s arrival last summer quickly changed his situation. Piroe slipped down the pecking order and found regular minutes increasingly hard to come by at Elland Road.
He effectively became fourth choice among Leeds’ attacking options, despite the squad not even having four natural centre-forwards. That was a clear sign that Daniel Farke did not see Piroe as someone capable of leading the line in the Premier League.
Farke has never questioned Piroe’s finishing ability, but he has also highlighted concerns over his mobility and physicality at the highest level.
With Leeds still looking to add another striker, Piroe’s time at Elland Road now looks increasingly likely to come to an end.
IMO West Hams gain is most definitely our loss. He was never really given a proper chance and they got in Nmecha why and why he is so lazy . Yes he scores few and far between. But as it say imo given the minutes he gets Piroe would have scored more if his minutes had been more.