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Farke can end Piroe’s Leeds career by signing star “similar to Haaland”
The January transfer window has been open for business for almost two weeks and Leeds United are yet to make an addition to Daniel Farke‘s first-team squad.
The Whites have only lost one of their last seven matches in the Premier League, which has taken them away from the bottom three, and that run of form may have eased the need for urgent signings.
However, the West Yorkshire outfit should still be attentive to the market as the teams around them in the table will be looking to bolster their squads to avoid relegation to the Championship.
Whilst new signings could come through the door at Elland Road before the end of the window, there could also be players who move on from the club, and one of them could be Joel Piroe.
Why Leeds should sell Joel Piroe
Speaking earlier this week, the Dutchman, who has made himself available for the Suriname national team, said that an exit is not on the cards at the moment, but he did not completely rule out a move.
The 49ers and Farke should be looking to part ways with the left-footed attacker because he has not made the step up to the Premier League very effectively this season.
Piroe was one of the promotion-winning stars who did not look suited to the step up last summer, as he lost 73% of his duels in the Championship, per Sofascore, and did not seem ready for the physicality of the top-flight.
That has proven to be the case so far. Per Sofascore, the striker has lost a staggering 85% of his duels in the Premier League, including 91% of his ground duels, and is yet to provide a goal or an assist in ten matches.
Due to his lack of physicality and impact in the final third, Leeds should look to sign a replacement for Piroe so that they can end his career at Elland Road this month.
The striker Leeds should replace Piroe with
With Noah Okafor, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and Lukas Nmecha already in the squad, signing another striker could allow the 49ers to finally sell the former Swansea marksman, as he would be even more surplus to requirements than he already is.
It was recently reported that Leeds United are eyeing up Roma centre-forward Artem Dovbyk as a potential signing, either on loan or on a permanent deal, with £21m required for the latter.
The Ukraine international, described as a “presence” who is “similar to (Erling) Haaland” by former Premier League striker Mario Balotelli, has only started three league games this season and could be an opportunistic signing by the Whites.
Dovbyk, despite only starting three games, has scored three goals from 2.35 xG in the Serie A for Roma, per Sofascore, which shows that he has been an efficient finisher in spite of his lack of game time.
The left-footed star has also won 46% of his duels, including 65% of his aerial duels, in 13 total appearances in the Italian top-flight, per Sofascore. He is a physical number nine who can win flick-ons and compete with strong centre-backs each week, unlike Piroe.
This suggests that he would be more suited to the situation that Leeds are currently in because he has the physicality and quality to play a big role in a relegation fight, with each game being a scrap for points.
Dovbyk is not just a physical striker who only brings duel-winning to the table, though, as his last two full seasons suggest that he can also be a prolific goalscorer at his best.
|
Artem Dovbyk |
23/24 (LaLiga) |
24/25 (Serie A) |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
36 |
32 |
|
Goals |
24 |
12 |
|
Minutes per goal |
109 |
203 |
|
Big chances created |
10 |
5 |
|
Assists |
8 |
2 |
|
Aerial duel success rate |
50% |
42% |
As you can see in the table above, the 28-year-old number nine scored 36 goals in LaLiga and the Serie A in the two seasons before the current campaign, to go alongside ten assists.
Piroe, meanwhile, is yet to score a goal in a major European league, as he has not scored in the Premier League this term, and has not proven that he can score goals on a regular basis at the top level.
Therefore, the 49ers could land a huge upgrade on Piroe by signing Dovbyk to take his place in the squad during the January transfer window.
This would allow the club to sanction an exit for the former Swansea striker, as he would then have Dovbyk, Calvert-Lewin, Nmecha, Okafor, and possibly Brenden Aaronson between him and a starting berth, which means that this signing could end his career at Elland Road.
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