By admin 
Leeds United have made an excellent start to the 2023/24 Championship campaign following on from their relegation from the Premier League at the end of last term.
The Whites finished in the bottom three of the top-flight and dropped back down to the second tier after three seasons at the top table of English football
Daniel Farke’s side are currently third in the division and fighting for promotion back at the first time of asking. Although, they are nine points off the automatic places, having played one more match than Ipswich Town, as the top two are starting to run away with the league.
The Yorkshire-based outfit most recently dropped points in a 1-0 defeat to Stoke City on Wednesday night in what was a frustrating evening for the club, with a missed Patrick Bamford penalty followed swiftly by an own goal from Pascal Struijk.
Summer signing Joel Piroe led the line and failed to produce the goods as he missed a ‘big chance’ and only managed one shot on target in 70 minutes on the pitch.
The Dutch marksman has now only scored once in his last five Championship matches for Leeds but that should not be a major concern as the quality is there for him to return to goalscoring form.
In fact, the young finisher could have the potential to be Farke’s own, second tier version, of the prolific Manchester City ace Erling Haaland.
Why Haaland and Piroe are similar forwards
In a recent interview with Sky Sports, Piroe namechecked the Norway international as a player he likes to watch and learn from as the former Swans star believes that there are similarities in the way they both play.
The impressive Dutchman mentioned that the runs Haaland makes for City to create chances for himself is something that he would like to do more of in his game in this new fluid role that Leeds are asking him to play.
Interestingly, he also named Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard as an inspiration for his play in possession when asked to collect the ball in deeper positions, due to the Norwegian magician’s ability as a second striker who can control the midfield.
Piroe, who led the line for Swansea in recent seasons, has been deployed as a hybrid of a number ten and a striker alongside Georgino Rutter this season.
Farke came out in defence of his decision to play the 6 foot 1 ace in that role. The German tactician stated that he wants his forwards to be constantly pressing and causing problems for the opposition and that is not Piroe’s strength.
However, the ex-Norwich boss lauded his finishing as “world-class” and that is why this role is perfect for him as Rutter can press and stretch the defence and leave space for the left-footed whiz to push forward into the final third to get on the end of passes and crosses to punish teams.