The Dutchman is on the radar of Leicester City, Leeds, Nottingham Forest, and Atalanta after scoring 41 Championship goals in the past two seasons with Swansea City
After announcing their first two signings of the transfer window in the space of a couple of hours, Leicester City have now gone a week without a new arrival.
The club will have been quietly doing business and preparing potential deals, with interest in a few players emerging, not least Manchester City duo Callum Doyle and Zack Steffen. Swansea forward Joel Piroe is another target, and is also a contender to be the next fresh face through the door at the club. Here’s the latest on the Dutchman.
City stepping up pursuit
After 41 Championship goals over the past two seasons, it is not surprising that so many clubs have been credited with interest in Piroe, including Premier League sides Everton and Nottingham Forest, fellow relegated clubs Leeds and Southampton, and Italian outfit Atalanta, who have City’s former recruitment chief Lee Congerton as their sporting director. But it is City who are among the frontrunners.
That’s according to WalesOnline, who say that City have been in touch with Piroe’s camp over the past week as they look to bring in the 23-year-old.
Duff’s pragmatic view
Michael Duff took over as Swans boss this summer and Piroe’s future was one of the first topics he had to deal with. He took a pragmatic view of the situation, and said Swansea were weighing up both scenarios, whether the Dutchman stays or leaves.
He told WalesOnline: “I had some good conversations with Joel at our training camp in Spain last week and he was asking about details of what I want from him. Until anything changes we will keep on having those conversations. If he goes, he goes, and if he doesn’t he stays – it is not personal, it’s football.
“I understand he’s the big name at the club and only has a year left on his contract. There will be plans in place in terms of the way we play if he stays, and plans for if he goes.”
Piroe’s motivating factors
The player himself has discussed his future, back in May, and said that regular football and progressing his development and career are the deal breakers for him. That’s what City must convince Piroe they can offer.
The forward told Eindhovens Dagblad: “Whether I will stay in Swansea for another year? There is a lot of speculation, but it remains to be seen whether something concrete will happen.
“It is nice to hear that clubs are interested. I mainly look at where I can play a lot and continue to take steps as a football player.”
Where Piroe would play
Piroe is a striker by trade and that’s where he has spent most of his time with Swansea, leading the line. But with City well-stocked for strikers as things stand, it would be interesting to see where Piroe would fit in the side, and how his arrival might affect how Enzo Maresca sets up. Could the Italian manager opt for a system that has two strikers, so that Piroe could play alongside either Jamie Vardy or Patson Daka?
But, Piroe has also played out wide. It does not appear to be his favoured role, but it may be a position that City see his future in. Here, we’ve looked at the different formations Maresca could try this season, and where potential new signings like Piroe would fit into the team.
How Piroe arrival would affect squad
City already have three senior strikers in their squad, and so adding Piroe, even if was being looked at as an option on the wing, would likely mean at least one is sold. Between Daka, Vardy, and Kelechi Iheanacho, it would be the latter who is most likely to depart.
The Nigerian has just one year remaining on his contract at the club, and that leaves City in a predicament where they may lose him for nothing in a year’s time. He has been linked with a move to Nottingham Forest.
