Daniel Farke admits Leeds United ace not ‘lightening quick’ or ‘unbelievably mobile’ but he’s so important

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There are those players – take Leeds United’s jet-heeled winger Dan James, for instance – who’s best attributes are about as obvious as they come.

James brings searing pace down the right-hand side. The sort of rocket-fuelled acceleration that can turn even the most aimless of punts into a well-weighted through ball.

Mateo Joseph may not be the most prolific, meanwhile, but the broad-shouldered physicality and the back-to-goal qualities he brings to the party often get the best out of those around him in the final third. Brenden Aaronson, when used correctly, is an expert of finding pockets of space and threading passes in behind.

But Joel Piroe is a little more difficult to figure out.

Not really a number nine, not really a number ten either. Piroe is not at his best when receiving the ball with his back to goal. He’s not the greatest link man. Nor is he the fastest, the strongest or the most skillful.

As such, since joining Leeds United in a £10 million deal from Swansea City back in 2023, arguably no player has sparked quite so many debates amongst the Elland Road fanbase.

But matches like the one on boxing day – Leeds number ten scored twice in a triumph over Stoke City – are those in which a player like Piroe is often be the difference between a draw and a win.

Daniel Farke hails Joel Piroe as Leeds United move top of Championship

The Dutchman managed the least touches and the least passes of any of Daniel Farke’s starting XI as Leeds made light work Stoke despite an early scare.

But as Piroe ended his recent goal drought with a clinical brace, finding the net either side of half-time, you won’t find many supporters bemoaning a lack of impact outside the penalty area or during the build-up phase as this most enigmatic of forwards helped Leeds leapfrog Sheffield United into top spot.

By Farke’s own admission, Piroe is unlikely to learn any new tricks. He is, as they say, what he is.

Not even the greatest of coaches could turn him into a footballer with the pace to rival Dan James, or the sheer power required to beat Joseph in an arm wrestle.

But when Leeds can pick him out inside the penalty area – as Aaronson and then James did in the Potteries – then there is no one you would rather see on the end of those passes than Joel Piroe.

“We want him to score goals and to be good with the pressing and counter pressing,” Farke said during his Friday press conference. “We want him to link the play well and to work a lot for the team.

“We want him to be good between the lines and to be flexible with his movements around the other attacking players.”

Piroe lacks pace but can be prolific with the right service

Piroe is now Leeds’ top scorer this season with nine Championship goals.

“There are so many things you look for as a manager,” Farke adds. “[Piroe] has delivered today on many, many topics. It’s important for a striker to deliver end-products.

“He works a lot for the team. He’s an experienced player and we won’t change him as an individual player. We won’t make him a lightening quick player or an unbelievably mobile player.

“Joel Piroe is Joel Piroe and what he does best is scoring goals and we hope he can deliver in the up-and-coming months.”

Farke was keen to point out, after Leeds secured a relatively rare away win, that Joel Piroe’s statistics stand out head and shoulders above most other forwards in the Championship.

Since arriving in the United Kingdom from Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven in 2021, Piroe has scored 64 goals in just 127 second-tier starts. Add in assists – he’s managed 15 for Swansea and Leeds respectively – and Piroe averages a ‘goal contribution’ every 0.6 matches.