Leeds United have seen a once-promising summer dragged into disrepute, and Daniel Farke's job has now been made a whole lot harder by the continued failures of the past…
Who has left Leeds United this summer?
It seems that the overconfidence that the previous regime held with regard to the club's ability to avoid relegation has finally come back to bite them, as last season saw them fall to Premier League relegation after narrowly avoiding such an eventuality the year prior.
At first, the hope was that many of those stars involved in such a failure would stick around, seeking to help dig the club out of the hole they put them in. This has been far from the case.
No less than six of their starters have departed on loan, including Max Wober, Jack Harrison, Robin Koch, Marc Roca, Brenden Aaronson and Rasmus Kristensen, something that has left many fans furious. The Whites must stop this rut with a few acquisitions of their own, or else watch a fanbase who deserve so much more see their frustrations boil over.
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Fortunately, pundit Carlton Palmer told Football League World about one player they could sign to offset the mass exodus: "Leeds have a genuine interest in Swansea striker Joel Piroe. They need to bring a striker in, but Swansea do not want to sell and with interest from other clubs, Swansea are asking for a £20m price.
"Bamford has still not featured this season and this is a worry as he was injury-plagued last season, they need reinforcements in the attacking part of the pitch and it's not going to be cheap. In Piroe, they have a Championship proven scorer if they could get him."
How good is Joel Piroe?
Perhaps the only way to convince these top players to remain at Elland Road is to give them an incentive, with a swift return to the top flight arguably the biggest available to them.
Acquisitions such as Ethan Ampadu and Karl Darlow offer instant experience at a level above theirs, whilst the Dutchman in question has already shown his quality in the Championship to suggest he too is ready for a step up.
After all, having only left his homeland two years ago, both of his seasons in Wales have been exceptional ones.
The opening term saw the 24-year-old record 24 goals and assist a further six, almost emulating those figures the year after with another 20 strikes during the 2022/23 campaign.
Such form understandably drew praise, with writer and podcaster Benjamin Bloom leading it: "PROLIFIC PIROE," he began. "When he joined Swansea in 2021 from PSV, Joel Piroe was something of an unknown quantity. However, he took to the Championship like a duck to water and is now coming to the end of a second brilliant season".
Considering that the departures have largely been attacking players too, with Rodrigo, Harrison and Aaronson all departing, plus the fact that Wilfried Gnonto and Luis Sinisterra are both absent too, and their firepower has been severely diminished over the course of just one window.
Their former Spaniard was their top scorer in the Premier League most recently and left for just £3m. Among that list too were the 12 league goal contributions of Harrison and the eight goal contributions notched by Gnonto across all senior competitions in England. Whilst not standalone outstanding numbers, their cumulative exit could prove catastrophic.
Leeds are now in desperate need of a fresh front line, both to prevent any more enforced exits and actually begin the rebuild.
There are arguably few better options on the market at present than Piroe, who Farke must act quickly to secure.