Leeds United are still looking for ways they can strengthen their squad ahead of their Championship campaign, and now a fresh update has emerged on the club's pursuit of a transfer target.
What's the latest on Leeds' interest in Joel Piroe?
According to transfer insider Pete O'Rourke, Leeds are in the race to sign Swansea City striker Joel Piroe this summer.
In an article written for Football Insider, O'Rourke claims that the Whites are competing with Southampton and Leicester City for the talented goalscorer's signature, with Leeds keen to replace Rodrigo who made a permanent move to Qatari outfit Al-Rayyan.
It was also reported by the Daily Mail's Simon Jones earlier this week that Swansea are expected to demand £15m for their goal-scoring talisman.
How good is Joel Piroe?
Daniel Farke will be keen to get business wrapped up as soon as possible, with Leeds set to play their opening game of the season against Cardiff City next Sunday.
There will be high expectations for the club to follow in the footsteps of Burnley by achieving instant promotion back to the Premier League next season, something that could be challenging considering the amount of departures from Elland Road so far.
Rodrigo, Robin Koch, Tyler Roberts, Joe Robles, Brendan Aaronson, Rasmus Kristensen, Marc Roca, Adam Forshaw and Weston McKennie are all players who will not be seen in West Yorkshire next season, so there is definitely room to add depth in almost every area of the pitch.
Leeds have already snapped up the services of Chelsea academy graduate Ethan Ampadu to bolster the defensive set-up, however, adding some sound experience of the second tier would be massively advantageous.
As a result, the signing of Piroe would be a huge piece of business for Farke this summer, as he could not only offer a great perspective and experience of Championship football but could easily surpass Patrick Bamford's output over next season and beyond.
Over 43 league appearances last season, the 23-year-old machine – hailed "ruthless" by former Swans boss Russell Martin – scored 19 goals, delivered two assists and created five big chances, as well as averaging 3.3 shots on goal, 1.4 shots on target and 36.5 touches per game, as per SofaScore.
When looking closer at Bamford's overall output in front of goal, the Leeds talisman has tallied up 125 goals and 49 assists over 360 club career appearances so far, with a goal contribution every 135 minutes.
Piroe, meanwhile, has delivered 106 goals and 28 assists over 242 club career appearances with a goal contribution every 129 minutes, proving that despite being seven years younger than his positional peer he is displaying greater consistency in the final third at present and the potential to have an even more impactful output.
Aside from their goal contributions, the Netherlands native comfortably outperformed Bamford in a number of other key attacking attributes including shot-creating actions per 90 (2.25 v 1.60), shots on target per 90 (3.32 v 2.85), pass completion (81.5% v 68.8%) and successful take-ons (48.8% v 32.4%), as per FBref.
Indeed, the pair may well compete for the centre-forward role at Elland Road next season, however, Piroe is extremely versatile just like Rodrigo with the capabilities and experience of performing in an attacking midfield or right-winger role too, presenting an opportunity for Farke to form an unstoppable attacking partnership between them.
With that being said, Leeds must find a way to beat their Championship rivals to the signing of Piroe, as he could be an incredibly valuable asset in the attacking threat easing the loss of those who have made an exit this summer.