Jesse Marsch term fits Leeds United transfer target as Championship club prepares to do without him

Speaking about Brenden Aaronson a year ago, Marsch said his American compatriot could play in a 'nine and a half' position and though evidence of that failed to materialise over the course of last season, it feels a fitting term for Piroe and his profile.

The Whites are in the market for a number 9 and have been for a number of transfer windows. For a long time Patrick Bamford circa 2019 to 2021 has been held up as the standard by which prospective Leeds strikers should be judged due to his goals, most notably in the Premier League, and the way he led the line. Bamford's hold up play improved under Marcelo Bielsa and his ability to bring others into attacks helped Leeds to flow forward. So when discussing the idea of bringing in a striker, Bamford's skillset was often put forward as an ideal template.

That narrative changed a little, or at least wavered, during the summer of 2022 when Leeds went after attackers of varying types, shapes and sizes. They wanted, but did not get, versatility in Charles De Ketelaere. They thought they could get the same in Cody Gakpo, but did not. Bamba Dieng was the only one of the three that got away to resemble a traditional centre forward and of course the one Leeds did get, Willy Gnonto, is a winger who can feature centrally but not a striker.

It went largely unnoticed in the maelstrom of melodrama that transfer deadline week became last summer, but Leeds had a go at prising Piroe from Swansea too. Evidently, that too came to nought, and he stayed put, scoring 20 goals to add to the 24 he fired in during the previous campaign.

This summer the Whites reactivated that interest and with just over a week to go in the window the suggestion both in South Wales and Yorkshire is that Elland Road is a leading possible destination in the very-much-up-in-the-air future of the Dutch striker.

Given how events have unfolded for a number of Leeds players going through their own summers of speculation, Piroe's response and behaviour amid the noise will be of interest to Whites supporters.

"He's always been eager to play for Swansea and what's been quite telling is that even with all this speculation about its future, by all accounts he has been pretty professional about it," Tom Coleman of Wales Online told the YEP.

"He's still starting games. He's eager to learn from Michael Duff a new boss, still putting his hands up and wanting the ball. Okay the performances perhaps haven't been there but performances haven't been there for a few members of the Swansea team at the moment. I get the feeling he just loves playing football."

Piroe has evidently loved playing for Swansea too, knocking in goals for fun to make himself one of the second tier's hottest marksmen. Having watched fellow Championship standouts Viktor Gyökeres and Gustavo Hamer get their moves to Primeira Liga side Sporting CP and Premier League Sheffield United respectively, the Swans striker knows what is possible.

Although there has been top flight interest and in the final days of the window that could re-emerge, Coleman is not convinced that Piroe's personal ambition lines up with squad-player status with a Premier League club.

"At this moment in time in his career, he's 24 now, I think the feeling is that in order to further his development, he's going to have to play at a higher level - there were murmurs from from his camp earlier in the summer that he has ambitions of playing for the Netherlands eventually," said Coleman.

"The important thing however is that he wants to go to a club where he's going to play week in week out. This is just my hunch but perhaps there's a hesitation that he isn't perhaps going to get the game time in the Premier League that he would at say a Leeds or Southampton and maybe that's why those top flight rumours have fizzled out quite quickly."

Top flight offers or not, Piroe's exit from Swansea looks highly likely due in chief to a contract that runs out next summer. If the Swans are to cash in then the time is now, regardless of the natural reluctance to part with a star.

"Forty-odd goals in two seasons speaks for itself and Swansea have loved having him," added Coleman.

"For obvious reasons there will be a lot of disappointment if and when he goes. I think Swansea are one way or another preparing for life without him."

If Leeds could pip Southampton and others to Piroe's signing, would they be getting the natural centre forward the squad has been crying out for during Bamford's injury problems? Coleman thinks not.

"Obviously, he's got a terrific goalscoring record as a finisher and you'd be hard pressed to find someone at this level who is better than him," he said.

"His ability in around the box is so good that I'm quite surprised Swansea have held on to him for as long as they have. I wouldn't consider him your classic out-and-out number 9, despite the fact he is a goal scorer. He's almost sort of halfway between that out-and-out striker and second striker role. It's almost as if there's another area he's kind of carved out for himself."

Nine and a half, you might say.

Farke's team, on the evidence so far, needs a number 9 who can provide a presence, a focal point and then get on the end of chances. Leeds fan and football recruitment analyst Kris Hilliam believes Piroe is closer to a second striker than a 9, so his presence in the team would require a different type of 10 - "a player who runs beyond into the space Piroe vacates."

That is something Coleman has watched unfold at Swansea.

"Particularly under Russell Martin, Piroe was very good at holding up the ball in front of midfield, which allows the midfielders to overload in some of the areas where there might be space, which really suited Martin's possession-based brand of football," said the Wales Online reporter.

"He is a sort of striker that likes to hold the ball up, with his back to goal on the edge of the area. His positioning and his awareness I hesitate to say are Premier League quality because I don't want to put too much pressure on him but certainly it's better than the level he's playing at now. You're not going to see Joel Piroe running at pace at defenders or anything like that. He's more of a presence on the edge of the box rather than in the box, if that makes sense. He's very, very good at bringing other players into play."

What Leeds need, besides a forward who contributes to the overall attacking play, is goals and lots of them. That is where Piroe can definitely help.

"That sense of positioning that I talked about, he's used that to great effect, because very often he's been in the right place at the right time to put the ball on the back of the net," said Coleman.

"And very often it's at times when Swansea really, really needed a goal from a half chance. Whereas a player might snap at a chance from distance, Piroe has managed to actually turn those half chances into goals."

There can be little argument that regardless of Piroe's profile or his most natural fit in any side, if a Championship outfit can get him over the line in the next week it will be a signing and a half.