Dominic Matteo has told LUTV’s Matchday Show prior to the loss to Southampton on Saturday that Joel Piroe has really impressed him since the Dutchman’s move to Leeds United – praising the star’s timing.
Leeds were cruing out for a striker in the summer after Rodrigo departed for Qatari side Al-Rayyan – and Piroe came in. The 24-year-old had starred for Swansea over the last couple of years, scoring 46 goals.
The Whites spent an initial £10.5m to sign him, in a deal that could reach £16m – as per Phil Hay. He has made a wonderful start, even despite Saturday’s loss. Piroe has four goals in six Leeds matches so far.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s 3-1 loss in which Piroe struggled to have an impact, Matteo said that he had been impressed with Piroe. He claims some think he is dropping too deep, but does not agree.
“We talked about getting an out and out goalscorer. He’s certainly lived up to that. It’s one of those with Piroe, he just knows where to be. People say he is playing too deep, I don’t agree,” Matteo said on Piroe.
“He times it perfectly to get into the box and the ball comes to him. His timing is really good. The best thing about him is he knows where to be,” Matteo continued, discussing Piroe on the Matchday Show.
Dom Matteo really impressed by new Leeds signing Joel Piroe
Saturday was a disappointment and Piroe was well below the bar he has set in his previous five games. But, there is no doubting that Piroe has been a smart signing and will score plenty of goals this season.
If Leeds were going to get an instant promotion back to the Premier League, then they needed a striker that knows how to score goals at a ratio of one every two games in this league. Piroe is certainly that.
He should continue in the starting line-up on Wednesday even though he was poor on Saturday, and even with Patrick Bamford back from injury. He has been an excellent signing and will play a key role.
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