Joel Piroe has spent the duration of this season as Leeds United’s primary offensive midfielder, although his questionable effect there has already been eclipsed by Georginio Rutter.
Strings need to be pulled at the heart of Leeds United’s assault, and one of the few threads that have been tugged in the league’s fourth-best frontline is centered on a playmaker. Or, more specifically, the absence of a natural playmaker behind Daniel Farke’s designated striker.
The summer chase of Nadiem Amiri highlighted where Farke and the transfer committee’s heads were before the window closed. While that transfer fell through, Joel Piroe would become the team’s de facto creator as the second striker behind Georginio Rutter.
The Dutch forward has delivered nine goals and one assist in 24 league outings, but long spells this season have left you wanting more from him. Farke’s view on his pairing of Piroe and Rutter is well known, thanks to his forensic 13-minute explanation in October, but a simple adjustment appeared to be the apparent remedy when Leeds failed.
Piroe had long appeared to be a scorer who couldn’t create, while Rutter was a creative who couldn’t score. After a particularly brutal night at The Hawthorns to close out 2023, Farke finally activated his front four setup.
Piroe was benched, Rutter was pushed back, and Patrick Bamford was tasked with leading the attack. The sample size is tiny, but the early results are promising.
Birmingham City and Cardiff City are two of Leeds’ most limited opponents this season, with those games producing two of the three highest expected goals (xG) tallies of United’s season. That must be a proviso in any comparison of Piroe and Rutter as the team’s center attacking midfielder, but you have to question if the latter’s new role is a significant contributor to such high xG counts.
One of Piroe’s major concerns was frequently drifting out of games and rarely getting on the ball in such a high-traffic location. When he wasn’t scoring, it was easy to forget Piroe existed on the pitch.
According to Opta, Piroe made 725 touches in 1,825 minutes in that deeper spot for the Whites. The 24-year-old averages one touch every 150 seconds.
In just two games and 174 minutes, Rutter has 109 touches. That is an average of 96 seconds per touch. A simple analysis demonstrating Rutter’s higher influence reveals the significant disparity between the two.
It is not a comparison that takes into consideration Farke’s tactical decisions or instructions to each player, nor does it account for the difference in opposition quality, but it is an early trend that should be monitored. Piroe’s body of work across 22 starts and a diverse mix of opponents is conclusive, but Rutter will receive more minutes and new tests in the coming weeks to highlight their disparities.
