The summer signing might have burned bridges with those who once cheered for him
Joel Piroe joined West Ham on an initial loan from Leeds United(Image: Rob Newell – CameraSport, CameraSport via Getty Images)
Just weeks after joining West Ham United on loan, Joel Piroe has made comments that might not go down too well with Leeds United fans. The Suriname international will move permanently to the London Stadium if the Hammers win promotion, and he might not be welcomed back by fans of his parent club if that doesn’t materialise.
Piroe scored on his Hammers debut in a defeat to Charlton and won a penalty in Tuesday’s 4-2 win over Wolves. He already has more league goals than last season, when he struggled for regular minutes after Daniel Farke’s side strengthened ahead of a first year back in the Premier League.
The 27-year-old arrived in east London during a busy summer, which also saw Manor Solomon join Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad. The striker and winger have been reunited at the London Stadium after a year together at Elland Road, in which Piroe scored 19 league goals to help Leeds top the 2024/25 Championship table.
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Piroe spoke to De Voetbalkantine (via ESPN ) about the move south, and some of his remarks may not sit well with Leeds supporters. “London is obviously a much nicer city than Leeds,” he said. “And West Ham has a team worthy of the Premier League.
“Just look at the stadium… Sold out, 60,000 fans – that’s not exactly the norm in the Championship. Especially in London, where West Ham United isn’t the biggest or most popular club.”
The striker also recognised he ought to get an opportunity to play more regular football after stepping back down to the second tier. “I feel like the Championship gave me the best opportunities to play a lot of matches,” he said.
“When you play a lot, you can showcase your qualities. That’s the main reason I chose a Championship team. You can play plenty of games and quickly find your rhythm. My goal is to score 20 goals.”
Piroe has already opened his account for the Hammers(Image: Rob Newell – CameraSport, CameraSport via Getty Images)
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West Ham are back at home on Saturday, with Derby County the visitors. Deadline day signings Morato and Adama Boiro have joined Piroe in E20 and captain Jarrod Bowen is pleased with the club’s recruitment.
“With the new players who have joined the ones who were already here, I think we’re in a really good place, and we’ve got a really good core,” Bowen said. “We’ve got really good characters that we’ve brought in, so that’s credit to the recruitment side for the players that we’ve brought in, as they want to be part of a group which does something special this season.
“There’s going to be hard moments, there’s going to be tough games, so it’s important that we rally together as a group, and I think you saw the fighting spirit that we have on Tuesday night.