Leeds United took another step towards promotion back to the Premier League on Saturday as they picked up a point against West Bromwich Albion at Elland Road.
Whilst the Whites would have preferred to claim all three points against the Baggies, especially after they took the lead through Junior Firpo in the first half, it was another point closer to the top-flight and better than a loss.
Daniel Farke’s side are three points clear of Sheffield United in second place and eight points clear of Burnley in third, although the Clarets have a game in hand over the top two.
The West Yorkshire outfit were surprisingly blunt at the top end of the pitch against the Baggies, as they only created one ‘big chance’ in the 90 minutes.
Joel Piroe played the entire match and did not get a single shot off, on or off target, as his teammates failed to create any opportunities for him, and he failed to create any chances for himself.
Joel Piroe's form this season
That was a surprise because the Dutch centre-forward, who joined from Swansea City in the summer of 2023, has been in lethal form in front of goal in the second tier this season.
The left-footed marksman has scored 15 goals from 10.71 xG in 25 starts in the Championship, whilst taking 2.1 shots per game on average, which shows that he has been ruthless with the chances that have come his way in the division.
Joel Piroe (Leeds)
35
15
Borja Sainz (Norwich)
30
15
Josh Maja (West Brom)
26
12
Wilson Isidor (Sunderland)
32
12
Callum Robinson (Cardiff)
27
12
As you can see in the table above, Piroe is the joint-top scorer in the league, alongside Norwich City winger Borja Sainz, and he will be hoping to move clear of the Spaniard to win the Golden Boot, as well as promotion, at the end of the season.
The former Swans attacker has already outscored his 2023/24 tally of 13 goals in the Championship, and his current form is a testament to his professionalism as well as his quality, as he started the season as the second-choice to Mateo Joseph.
Farke went with the Spanish academy graduate for the opening eight matches of the Championship season, but the Spain U21 international only found the back of the net twice in those games.
That provided Piroe with an opportunity to step in and make the number nine position his own, which is exactly what he has done – as evidenced by his position at the top of the league’s goalscoring charts.
Things may not have gone as favourably for the Dutch centre-forward, however, if the timing had been different and a former Leeds youth forward – Rafa Mujica – had been in his way instead of Joseph.
Leeds once had Rafa Mujica
Back in the summer of 2019, Victor Orta swooped to sign Mujica from Barcelona B on a free transfer, after his contract with the Spanish side expired.
The young marksman scored seven goals in 33 appearances for Barcelona B during the 2018/19 campaign and Leeds confirmed that he would initially link up with Carlos Corberan’s U21s side at Thorp Arch.
Mujica soon went out on loan to Extremadura and Villarreal B during the 2019/20 campaign, before spending time on loan with Real Oviedo and Las Palmas in the following season.
At the end of the 2020/21 campaign, following two years as a Leeds player, Las Palmas signed the Spanish centre-forward on a permanent deal for an undisclosed fee.
Where Are They Now
That is a decision that the powers that be may now come to regret, as Mujica has gone on to develop into an excellent centre-forward who has thrived in multiple countries.
After one season with Las Palmas as a permanent addition, Portuguese side Arouca swooped in to sign the number nine in the summer of 2022, and that is when his career really had lift-off.
Rafa Mujica's form in recent seasons
The former Leeds United academy talent enjoyed a strong first season with the Liga Portugal outfit as he racked up 14 goals and one assist in 32 appearances in all competitions.
He followed that up with an exceptional return of 23 goals and four assists in 36 appearances in all competitions for the Portuguese side in the 2023/24 campaign. Meanwhile, as aforementioned, Piroe scored 13 goals in the second tier for Leeds that season.
Mujica, who was hailed as “magnificent” by former boss Pepe Mel, then earned himself a big-money move to Al-Sadd in the summer of 2024, as they swooped in to sign him for a reported fee of €10m (£8.3m).
Since making that switch to Qatar, the 26-year-old centre-forward has been in incredibly lethal form, and has even been more prolific than Piroe at league level this season.
Appearances
13
35
Goals
14
15
Conversion rate
26%
20%
Minutes per goal
78
146
Big chances missed
10
5
As you can see in the table above, Mujica has only scored one fewer goal than the Dutch attacker, despite playing just 13 times, and has averaged far fewer minutes per goal in the current campaign.
Whilst some may point to the league that he is playing in, the former Leeds man also starred in the Portuguese top-flight – home to the likes of Porto, Sporting, and Benfica – in the previous two seasons with Arouca, which shows that he can score goals on a regular basis at a good level.
The Spanish marksman never got a chance to make his first-team debut, let alone start the first eight matches of a league season as Joseph did, and some may wonder what would have happened if he had been given that opportunity at Elland Road.
He has developed into a top-quality number nine, who has starred in Portugal and Qatar, and that is why Leeds should rue selling him to Las Palmas back in 2021, as they missed out on the chance to help him fulfill his potential at Elland Road.
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It will now be interesting to see whether or not the 26-year-old, who still has plenty of time left in his career, return to Europe to play in one of the major leagues in the future.