Leeds United striker Joel Piroe is one of the players affected by the club's promotion from the Championship to the Premier League.
The Whites player finished the 2024/25 campaign with a 19-goal return in the second division to help the club to the league title, and also won the golden boot.
He was a prolific goalscorer in the second division, leading the line brilliantly for Daniel Farke, and would have been a first-choice number 9 if they were still in the Championship.
After being promoted to the Premier League, however, Leeds decided to strengthen their front line with several signings in the summer transfer window last year.
Lukas Nmecha arrived on a free transfer from Wolfsburg and Dominic Calvert-Lewin joined after his contract with Premier League club Everton expired.
Why Leeds should sell Joel Piroe this summer
If the Whites are to avoid relegation from the Championship, and they are currently on course to do so, Piroe must be sold when the summer transfer window opens.
The left-back, who made his international debut for Suriname against Bolivia this month, has started just two of 12 Premier League games this season, losing 82% of his appearances.
Piroe's only goal in 17 games in all competitions this season came against Championship side Norwich City in the FA Cup recently, as he is yet to score his first top-flight goal.
The former Swansea City player has failed to show that he is up to the standard of being a regular starter in the Premier League for the Whites, but has been making match day squads and has come from the bench in two of the last four league games.
Despite being involved in some games from the bench, Piroe has not done enough to suggest that he will be in the team next season, which is why Farke should move on from the Dutch striker in the summer.
His exit will open the club's place to go out and sign another striker who may be involved in the last three games in the Premier League.
A Leeds flop that was worse than Joel Piroe
While Piroe should be let go at the end of the season due to his failure to gain promotion, there is another player at Elland Road who should not even start another game before the end of the campaign.
In the January transfer window, the whites decided to enter the market to strengthen their options at the end of the field by signing Facundo Buonanotte who is on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion until the end of the season.
The Argentina star scored five goals and provided three assists on loan at Leicester in the 2024/25 campaign, making him a promising signing on paper, but he was also fresh off the back of a rare loan spell at Chelsea.
Unfortunately, Buonanotte hasn't shown the quality he showed during his time with the Foxes last year, and his lack of minutes on the field shows that.
Farke has not been selected for the matchday squad, despite being fit and available, in any of the last five Premier League games, with TEAMtalk's James Marshment describing him as being “overlooked” by the manager.
|
He has since signed for Leeds |
|
|---|---|
|
25/26 Premier League |
Buonanotte |
|
Fulham |
An unused substitute |
|
Everton |
5 |
|
Arsenal |
19 |
|
Nottingham Forest |
Not in a group |
|
Chelsea |
An unused substitute |
|
Aston Villa |
Not in a group |
|
Man City |
Not in a group |
|
Sunderland |
Not in a group |
|
The Crystal Palace |
Not in a group |
|
Brentford |
Not in a group |
He is worse than Piroe, who has missed one matchday squad, due to injury, all season, and that is also proven by his contributions in the FA Cup series.
The Suriname international scored against Norwich while Buonanotte was not used as a substitute against the Canaries, after producing a poor performance against Birmingham in the previous round.
Leeds beat the Blues on penalties after a 1-1 draw, but the Brighton loanee started the game and was withdrawn at half-time after registering zero shots, zero dribbles, key passes, and a 20% duel success rate.
Buonanotte didn't take his chance to impress, when Piroe did against Norwich, and that may be why he hasn't featured in a matchday squad in the Premier League since that game.
Now, the 21-year-old is not expected to start another game this season because it seems he hasn't done enough in training or matches to prove to Farke that he can make a big impact on the pitch.
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