The Spanish centre-forward left the Whites in the summer of 2021 and is currently playing in Portugal.
Leeds United preserved their automatic promotion spot in the Championship with a 3-1 victory over Leicester City at Elland Road on Friday.
The Whites fell behind 1-0 in the first half following a header from Foxes central defender Wout Faes, but recovered to score three late goals to secure all three points.
Faes’ own goal was sandwiched between strikes from Connor Roberts and Patrick Bamford, and the result puts the Yorkshire club just six points behind the league leaders.
However, one Leeds player who struggled on the night was centre-forward Joel Piroe, who joined from Championship rivals Swansea City last summer.
The left-footed marksman has had mixed results this season, and the club may look back on their choice to sell Rafa Mujica, who has outperformed the 24-year-old attacker this season, in 2021 as a blunder.
Joel Piroe’s Performance Against Leicester
The Dutch attacker failed to demonstrate his quality in front of goal for the Whites in a wasteful display at the top of the pitch for Daniel Farke.
He was given the opportunity to lead the line at Elland Road, with Georginio Rutter in the hole behind him, but he failed to take advantage of the opportunity.
With the score at 0-0, Wilfried Gnonto masterfully moved the ball into Piroe’s feet inside the area, and the attacker sent a right-footed shot over the crossbar.
Meanwhile, Crysencio Summerville was in acres of space to his left and might have had a free shot at goal from close range if the striker had opened out his body and sent a pretty straightforward pass to his teammate.
After being left unmarked inside the box, the former Swansea star connected with a cross from the right side and fired his header miles wide of the post.
Piroe replaced Bamford with Leicester leading 1-0 after 64 minutes on the pitch with zero crucial passes and zero duels won (out of three contested).
Joel Piroe’s season statistics
During the 2023/24 season, the Whites’ gem appeared in 33 Championship games for Swansea and Leeds combined, providing a reliable goalscoring threat.
In those 33 games, the Dutchman has 11 goals and two assists, averaging one goal per three matches in the division.
However, his finishing has occasionally fallen short, as the ex-Swans ace has missed seven ‘big chances’ despite being given 11.69 xG of opportunities.
This demonstrates that he has somewhat underachieved in front of goal, given the quality of opportunities generated by Rutter and Summerville.
The Whites reportedly paid more than £10 million to obtain his services from the Welsh club during last summer’s transfer window.
Leeds appear to have had a mare, having already fumbled a potential Piroe upgrade in the form of Mujica, who has prospered since leaving Elland Road.
Rafa Mujica’s time at Leeds
Then-sporting director Victor Orta signed the number nine from Barcelona B on a free transfer in the summer of 2019 to join Carlos Corberan’s U21 team.
However, the youthful talent never appeared in a competitive match for the academy, having been loaned out to Extremadura, Villarreal B, Real Oviedo, and Las Palmas respectively.
Mujica’s loans, however, were far from a resounding success, as the centre-forward failed to score more than four goals for either of those clubs during his brief stints there.
Eventually, Orta decided to cash in on the erstwhile Barcelona star, selling him to Las Palmas for an undisclosed fee in the summer of 2021, as he had not made it into Marcelo Bielsa’s plans.
They appeared to have determined that the young finisher lacked the potential to progress and become a first-team quality option for the Yorkshire-based club, but this appears to have been a mistake in judgment.
Rafa Mujica’s goalscoring ability
The 25-year-old dynamo spent a year with Las Palmas before signing a permanent deal with Portuguese club Arouca ahead of the 2022/23 season.
He has thrived since moving to Portugal, as the talented forward has finally found his footing at the senior level and demonstrated himself on a continuous basis.
The 6-foot-1 ace had a terrific first season with Arouca, scoring eight goals and creating two ‘big opportunities’ for his teammates in 22 Liga Portugal appearances.
Mujica has been on fire for the Portuguese this season, consistently demonstrating his ability in the final third, with more league goals than Piroe.
The 25-year-old great has 14 goals in Liga Portugal this season, with an xG of 11.36, demonstrating that he is significantly more clinical in front of goal than the Leeds attacker.
| 23/24 league season | Rafa Mujica | Joel Piroe |
|---|---|---|
| Appearances | 23 | 33 |
| Sofascore rating | 7.20 | 6.99 |
| Expected Goals | 11.36 | 11.69 |
| Goals | 14 | 11 |
| Assists | Two | Two |
| Stats via Sofascore | ||
As shown in the table above, Mujica, who has six goals in his previous six games, has outperformed Piroe as a goalscorer this season, with more goals, lower xG, and ten less appearances throughout the 2023/24 season.
The Arouca star, who has 17 goals in all competitions, is only one year older than Piroe and has plenty of time and room to develop and grow in the coming years, so he might improve with more experience and consistent game time in Portugal.
Overall, Orta’s choice to break ways with the talented attacker after only two years in England was a mistake, since the excellent Spaniard has since proven his worth in the top tier of Portuguese football.
Meanwhile, Leeds have spent more than £10 million on a striker, Piroe, who has been outperformed by Mujica in front of goal in both competitions this season.
As a result, the Whites made a huge mistake by parting ways with the Spanish jewel, whose present form shows he could have developed into a terrific alternative for the club.
