Carlton Palmer urges Leeds United to sign Swansea City ‘proven scorer’ Joel Piroe
BBC Pundit Carlton Palmer believes Leeds United have a “genuine interest” in Swansea City striker Joel Piroe, but a deal to sign him won’t be cheap.
Speaking exclusively to Football League World (15 August), the ex-footballer believes Piroe is a “proven scorer” at Championship level and Leeds United need reinforcements in attack because of Patrick Bamford’s injury troubles.
The Whites have long been interested in the Dutchman, with CBS journalist Ben Jacobs [GiveMeSport, 13 August] reporting that Leeds have a “genuine interest” in the 19-goal hitman and would like to sign a new striker before the window closes.
And Palmer believes Leeds United should be targeting the striker, but he “won’t be cheap”.
He said: “Leeds have a genuine interest in Swansea striker Joel Piroe.
“They need to bring a striker in, but Swansea do not want to sell and with interest from other clubs, Swansea are asking for a 20 million pounds price.
“Bamford has still not featured this season and this is a worry as he was injury-plagued last season, they need reinforcements in the attacking part of the pitch and it’s not going to be cheap.
“In Piroe, they have a Championship proven scorer if they could get him.”
Late transfer window move?
It’s incredibly worrying that Leeds United haven’t secured a new striker yet, with just two weeks of the transfer window left.
A striker who is incredibly reliable in front of goal is certainly what Daniel Farke needs to drive the Whites into promotion territory, as he can no longer rely on an injury-prone Patrick Bamford.
Georginio Rutter finally has the chance to make a name for himself at Elland Road this season, but he’s on the injury treatment table too while Mateo Joseph should not be relied upon so soon in his young career.
Farke desperately needs a new striker quickly and Piroe certainly represents a stunning potential acquisition and the kind of striker that Leeds need to seal their Premier League promotion ambitions after his 46 goals over two seasons at Swansea.
However, Palmer is absolutely right, Piroe won’t be cheap and a Championship side spending £20m on one player is totally unheard of, but maybe not for Leeds United should they manage to accumulate funds for the likes of Wilfried Gnonto and Luis Sinisterra.
Will Piroe be a late transfer window move?
In other Leeds news, another Premier League club have agreed to trigger the release clause of one key Elland Road figure.
