Joel Piroe should consider departing Leeds United in the January transfer window, having struggled to spend much time in the first team this season.
To start the 2025/26 Premier League campaign, Piroe led the line for Leeds. He started in the club's opening win against Everton at Elland Road, keeping his place in the first team for their 5-0 loss to Arsenal in their next match.
Since then, however, the Dutchman has not started a league game for the Whites. Summer signing Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been first choice for Daniel Farke since reaching match fitness, whilst fellow recruit Lukas Nmecha has cemented his spot as the preferred back-up.
Against Brighton and Hove Albion, to whom Leeds fell to a 3-0 defeat at the Amex Stadium, Piroe was once again an unused substitute, having last played against Burnley in mid-October. It also marked the seventh league game in a row that Piroe did not start for the Whites. As such, it may be time for both Piroe and United to consider his future.
Should Piroe Leave Leeds?
Joel Piroe
The 2024/25 season saw Leeds win the Championship title, ascending to the Premier League after a two-year absence. In their triumph, Piroe was a crucial part of Farke's team, finishing as the second division's top scorer with 19 goals to his name.
Despite this return, the forward continues to struggle for starting minutes in the top flight. After 10 games, Leeds have not established themselves as consistent goalscorers. Regardless, Piroe, who earns £50,000 per week, is still third in the pecking order of strikers, even though neither Calvert-Lewin nor Nmecha are perhaps as prolific in front of goal.
Such is Piroe's playstyle, that he would struggle to replicate the physical, target man role filled by one of Leeds' aforementioned forward options, a style favoured as they battle to avoid relegation. It may, then, be time for the 26-year-old to move on from West Yorkshire, with Piroe having been linked with a departure ahead of the winter transfer window.
Piroe's future remains to be seen, but it is hard to imagine that he will become an established part of the first-team at Leeds again unless they are struck by injury. Given that the Whites are favouring a style of play that incorporates set pieces and long balls forward, they may seek to move Piroe on in the transfer window. In turn, the striker's departure would allow them to finance transfers in other areas that could prove more necessary than keeping Piroe on the books.