Leeds United<\/a>‘s promotion to the Premier League<\/a> last year meant that Daniel Farke<\/a> and the recruitment team had to replace several players in the squad to make the step-up to the top-flight.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Whites won the Championship title with 100 points in the 2024\/25 campaign, earning promotion, but not all of their stars from that season were ready to play at a higher level.<\/p>\n That is why the likes of Anton Stach, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, James Justin, and Noah Okafor were brought in to bolster the German head coach’s options across the pitch.<\/p>\n One of the players who suffered as a result of the team’s promotion to the Premier League was centre-forward Joel Piroe, who left the club to join West Ham United on loan this summer.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Suriname international was a star for the Whites in their title-winning season in the Championship, as he won the Golden Boot with 19 goals for the club as the starting number nine.<\/p>\n Even in that season, though, there were signs that he would not handle the step-up to the Premier League. Piroe lost 67% of his ground duels and 79% of his aerial duels across 46 appearances in the second tier in the 2024\/25 campaign.<\/p>\n The former Swansea City star struggles with the physical side of the game as a striker and fighting against relegation from the Premier League requires players with intensity and physicality to their game, which is why he ended up struggling in the top-flight.<\/p>\n 25\/26 Premier League<\/p>\n<\/th>\n Joel Piroe<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n Appearances<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 16<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Starts<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 2<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Goals<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Assists<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Duels won per game<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 0.5<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Ground duel success rate<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 21%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Aerial duel success rate<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 26%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n Piroe only started two matches in the division last term, as Lukas Nmecha and Calvert-Lewin were preferred ahead of him, and he failed to take his opportunities when they came, losing the majority of his duels on the deck and in the air.<\/p>\n The 27-year-old marksman, ultimately, was not ready for the Premier League because of his lack of physicality as a centre-forward, which eventually led to his move to the Hammers this year, one year after winning the Golden Boot for Leeds in the Championship.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n There are other players still in the first-team squad at Elland Road, though, who are in danger of becoming the next version of Piroe by falling out of favour.<\/p>\n\n Why Joel Piroe was not ready for the Premier League<\/strong>
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