By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
Joel Piroe probably wasn’t the striker most West Ham supporters expected the club to sign this summer, and he certainly wasn’t my first choice. But having taken a closer look at the 27-year-old former Swansea City striker, I can understand the logic behind the deal.
So what exactly are West Ham getting? Here are five things that stood out to me.
1. Piroe is a proven Championship goalscorer
This is ultimately why West Ham have signed him. Piroe has demonstrated over several seasons that he can score goals at this level, and that’s precisely what the Hammers require following relegation.
This isn’t a speculative signing where we’re waiting to discover whether somebody can adapt to English football. Piroe knows the Championship and has already shown he can deliver in it.
2. He’s a canny penalty-box operator
Piroe is very left-foot dominant, although he is capable of finishing with his right, and his game appears much more about positioning and finishing than explosive athleticism.
He’s not somebody I’d expect to manufacture endless chances for himself. West Ham will need to provide the ammunition, but get the ball to him in dangerous areas and there’s every reason to believe he’ll score.
3. Pace is the obvious concern
This is the part that worries me.
Piroe is quicker than Pablo, but he isn’t fast.
I’ve written before about why West Ham desperately need more pace in their attack, and signing Piroe doesn’t really address that problem.
Nuno Espírito Santo demonstrated with Chris Wood at Nottingham Forest that he can successfully use a striker without blistering pace, but Forest surrounded Wood with quick players.
West Ham don’t currently have enough of them.
Solomon and Piroe played together at Leeds
4. His relationship with Manor Solomon could help
One potentially important advantage is that Piroe has already played alongside new Hammers winger Manor Solomon at Leeds United.
West Ham desperately need to improve the supply into their striker, and Solomon’s pace and creativity should help.
If Arne Engels hits the ground running, suddenly the service into Piroe could look considerably better.
| Season & Club | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 — Swansea | 22 | 4 |
| 2022/23 — Swansea | 19 | 2 |
| 2023/24 — Leeds | 14 | 2 |
| 2024/25 — Leeds | 19 | 6 |
| Four-season total | 74 | 14 |
5. The financial gamble appears relatively small
Piroe wasn’t West Ham’s first-choice striker target and there’s little point pretending otherwise. The penny pinching in the move for Troy Parrott seems to have cost us but there’s little point dwelling.
However, based on the figures being reported, this looks like a relatively inexpensive gamble on somebody with a strong Championship goalscoring pedigree.
West Ham have explored numerous striking options this summer, including Franculino Djú, but ultimately Piroe offers something particularly valuable: a track record of scoring goals in the division we’re actually playing in.
Ultimately, Piroe’s success will be judged very simply: goals and promotion.
I still hope West Ham sign another striker, preferably somebody with genuine pace. But if Piroe gets the service he needs and scores the goals that help fire the Hammers back into the Premier League, nobody will particularly care that he wasn’t Plan A. And if I’m honest, I wasn’t particularly blown away with the prospect of Parrott anyway.
Seems similar to Taty – will be competition for him. Would still like to see a quick player who presses high and runs in on through balls off of Taty, Engels, Orford, Bowen.
Jamie Vardy to the rescue, Peter.
what a player – stepping onto a pitch in a WHU shirt, he would get a cheer for all he has already done and for the character he is.
Several new additions to the team are still required before the transfer window ends. Transfers so far have proven longer than expected, so it is hard to predict how many new transfers actually still may get over the line. As important as new signings is not having more key players depart (Taty, Mavropanos, Kante, etc. ). Especially unfortunate is the fact that Disasi decided not return to join the squad. His presence allowed Mavropanos to shine. It is not the same with Kilman (who does very well when the team is on the front foot, but who seems to lose confidence when the strategy is to sit back, and these hesitations propagate to the other defenders). So at the very least a good central defender is needed -ideally a talker who communicates with the others- to avoid a repeat of the issues in defense we got a year ago with the pairing of Mavropanos and Kilman.
Leeds preferred Dominic Calvert-Lewin as their main striker, or Lukas Nmecha and Noah Okafor or Harry Wilson ahead of Piroe. Piroe doesn’t press, he’s a fox in the box but that makes him more useful as a second striker playing alongside Taty or Pablo.
Let’s hope he does the business but he’s clearly not good enough for the premiership if Leeds don’t give him a game but we can worry about that later.
Never seen him play but if he isn’t quick or athletic that’s a big miss when virtually no one else is.
It all seemed so positive with Kretinsky pushing the club towards being professional and promising funding.
Since he’s faded away we seem to be back to the old Sullivan vague style bad transfer window. Going for unrealistic targets and settling for much cheaper options and less inspiring for the fans.
A poorly prepared team and squad soon to be two games into the season. Several players still to go, must be confused even in training.
Preseason wasted and no one knows what the team is going to be when the window closes. Very unprofessional very West Ham.
Nuno needs to take note and play a system that suits players not one that’s in his head.
No tinkering get it sorted and stick to it.
Another two prospects have surfaced Cozier-Duberry (has pace) & Imran Louza (Watford captain).
Koppen needs to finger print them along with Daniel Job sooner rather than later.
Less outgoings and more incomings.
Nuno needs to take note and play a system that suits players not one that’s in his head.
No tinkering get it sorted and stick to it.
Another two prospects have surfaced Cozier-Duberry (has pace) & Imran Louza (Watford captain).
Koppen needs to finger print them along with Daniel Job sooner rather than later.
Less outgoings and more incomings.
Saw this on Leedsallover.com and seems to sum what I think about this signing. The article,is called ‘West Ham make costly mistake as Joel Piroe move confirmed’
It’s been funny to see the West Ham fans post all the compilations of Piroe scoring goals for us all over social media and getting excited. As Leeds fans, we know the truth. Unless Piroe scored, in 99% of the games he played for us, he didn’t contribute at all.He doesn’t possess the physical attributes to lead the line effectively, even at Championship level. He’s slow and cannot really press, but he is an extremely gifted finisher.
I believe that Piroe will score anywhere north of 15 goals in the Championship for West Ham this season. But it will only be a matter of time before West Ham fans get frustrated about what the striker fails to bring to the table.
In all likelihood, West Ham will go up. But the second they do, they will need to fork out another £8million for Piroe. This is whilst also searching for his replacement. If they go back into the Premier League with him as their first-choice striker, it will be a recipe for disaster.
Also as Gonzo points out Manor Solomon is a key link to Piroe having some success, but you have to wonder whether the Solomon we saw play against Burnley was a one-off as he clearly hadn’t read Nervous Nuno’s script and stood out like a sore thumb compared to others, having the audacity to show both creativity and attacking intent. I’m sure within a few games he master the low block negative & defensive style Nervous Nuno will demand of him
Should be decent at Championship level but the biggest thing we need to know is that we won’t have to buy him unless we get promoted. Parrott would have been one for the future but paying £17m up front was beyond us. Will we ever find a billionaire we can rely on?
Piroe success will depend on the team creating chances for him like Leeds did in the championship, that means playing on the front foot and not sitting back like we tend to do.