Leeds star who Farke called “world-class” is finished at Elland Road
Heading into the New Year at Elland Road, there’s plenty to be positive about for Leeds United.
With two wins and two draws to date in December, Daniel Farke’s Whites have impressively pulled themselves out of the Premier League relegation mire, with the 4-1 triumph over Crystal Palace last time out being a very early Christmas gift for the passionate West Yorkshire masses to savour.
Unfortunately, though, even as Ethan Ampadu and Dominic Calvert-Lewin lead by example, with the Leeds captain noted as having “run the show” versus the Eagles as per the Athletic’s Beren Cross, there is a large portion of Farke’s camp who are still staring the exit door in the face.
Who could leave Leeds in January?
With Calvert-Lewin now up to an eye-catching seven Premier League strikes for the season, and Ampadu firing home first first-ever top-flight strike against Oliver Glasner’s men, it goes without saying that this duo are some of the first names on the German’s team sheet.
The same cannot be said for midfielder Ilia Gruev, who has fallen down the pecking order dramatically ever since promotion was achieved. The likes of Sean Longstaff and Anton Stach have not helped Gruev in that regard, arriving through the door in the summer to bolster the midfield ranks.
Consequently, the Bulgarian has only managed to line up for three full Premier League matches this season for Farke’s men, and with the ex-Norwich City manager now clearly finding a winning rhythm with his chosen lineup, it feels very unlikely that Gruev will push back into his first team plans shortly.
Jack Harrison will also surely be feeling the inevitability of his Leeds career ending, with no goals or assists coming his way from his limited 263 minutes of league action this season.
Only 22 minutes of that meagre tally fell in November and December, with the 29-year-old, who once lifted the Championship title in West Yorkshire under Marcelo Bielsa, now some way off the first team picture.
Illan Meslier’s contract also expires at the end of the season at Elland Road, with a sad farewell looking likely as early as January if he’s sold, or at the very end of the campaign, with the Frenchman, despite being error-prone, a long-standing Whites servant having notched up 215 appearances for the club.
He isn’t the only part of Farke’s promotion-winning camp who has seen all of his game time dry up after promotion, though.
Leeds star looks finished in 2025/26
That is the one glaring negative about Calvert-Lewin now coming to the forefront as Leeds’ main marksman, with previous free-flowing strikers pushed to the background to accommodate the goalscoring prowess of the top-flight proven ace.
Joel Piroe has fallen victim to these changes up top, despite the ex-Swansea City centre-forward actually picking up the coveted accolade of the Championship’s golden boot last season.
A clinical 19 goals were scored by the lethal number 10 last campaign as Farke and Co romped home to the title. Journalist Josh Bunting was right in his assessment that Piroe is an extremely “dangerous” forward presence to try and contain in the second tier.
His manager was even more complimentary, having hailed him as the club’s “best finisher” when he was in this red-hot form, while even outrageously claiming that the 26-year-old was a “world-class” star when leading the goalscoring charts.
Piroe’s league numbers for Leeds
Stat
24/25
25/26
Games played
46
9
Games started
36
2
Goals scored
19
0
Assists
7
0
Stats by Sofascore
Yet, Farke, despite all this praise, has barely handed the Dutchman opportunities to shine in the Premier League, resulting in Piroe still being goalless this campaign, from a minimal nine appearances.
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He is now cutting an “anonymous” figure – as he was once criticised in the Championship when not on top form by journalist James Marshment – with his 15-minute cameo against a leaky Palace defence seeing him register no goals on the away side’s net.
Staggeringly, he last attempted a shot at an opposition goal back in November when Aston Villa came to town, with Lukas Nmecha a far better reserve option up top for Farke to call upon when he’s fit, having bagged four top-flight strikes since leaving Wolfsburg behind.
Piroe could well prove to be an inspired pick-up for a second-tier outfit in January, aiming to push into the promised land of the Premier League, with the unusually goal-shy number ten surely done now at Elland Road.
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