"A baseline fee of £10m" - Joel Piroe price as Leeds United eye Swansea City agreement: The verdict | OneFootball

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This article is part of Football League World's 'The Verdict' series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Joel Piroe's future at Swansea is being toyed with, make no mistake.

The prolific Dutchman moved to South Wales in 2021 from PSV Eindhoven for a fee that could hit £2milllion, and he instantly got off to a flier with 22 league goals in the 2021/22 season - before making a similar tally with 19 goals in just 43 games last campaign.

The 24-year-old has proven himself as a prolific goalscorer at second-tier level, but with Swansea failing to go up despite his goals, that has seen the club come to an ultimatum - either keep Piroe for his final year, offer him a new contract, or sell him and make a hefty fee in the process.

A new contract has been offered, and reports suggested that he was closing in on signing a new deal under Michael Duff.

However, updates on Wednesday have suggested that Leeds could well be closing in on a move for his services - and that has thrown a spanner in the works at the Swansea.com Stadium.

Would a move to Leeds United be the right move for Joel Piroe?

There are multiple values being thrown about when it comes to rumours linking Piroe with a move to Elland Road. Alan Nixon has suggested that the Whites are willing to go as high as £15million to secure Piroe's signature - though The Athletic's Phil Hay believes that Leeds are only in the £8-10million bracket, which has led to a lot of talk about any potential move.

With the above, it highlights two key questions. Would it be the right move for the Dutchman? And what would be a fair price?

Our FLW writers have offered their thoughts.

Will Lancaster

Personally, I think this would be an exceptional signing for Leeds United.

Daniel Farke thrived off playing a natural goalscorer in his time at Norwich, with Teemu Pukki notching 29 goals in the 2018/19 title win and 26 in the 2020/21 title win at Carrow Road.

At Leeds, there aren't too many prolific goalscorers. Joe Gelhardt is largely inexperienced and untested, Georginio Rutter remains an untested entity, and Patrick Bamford continues his struggles with injury.

The latter hasn't quite been right since his 17-goal haul in Leeds' first Premier League season of their new era, and some fresh competition and an injection of a proven Championship player would definitely be of no detriment to Elland Road chiefs.

In terms of a fair price, it's tough to call. Having one year left on his contract does suit Leeds slightly more over Swansea, as the Yorkshire club can't be held to complete ransom.

However, the case with Piroe is different to most players who are out of contract. Most clubs are desperate to recoup some form of fee - though it appears Swansea are relaxed on that front.

If I had to be brutally honest, I'd say £15m is slightly too high considering Chuba Akpom has gone for £12m from Middlesbrough to Ajax with one year left on his deal, and Cameron Archer - who has shone in the Championship - is subject to an £18m bid from Sheffield United with FOUR years left on his deal.

Alfie Burns

Piroe would be an outstanding signing for Leeds.

The striker has shown how clinical he can be at Swansea, posting 20 goals (give or take) in two seasons in South Wales. You can't put it any other way, that is what Leeds would be signing him to do again: score the goals to get them out of the Championship.

However, Piroe's all-round game suits Daniel Farke's style of play, as Leeds build from the back and look to break lines. Piroe is a really silky footballer, with the ability to link the play from the No.9 position and bring the best out of the attacking midfielders behind him; coincidentally, where Leeds' squad is strongest.

In terms of the prices being thrown around, anything between that £8-15m figures would be completely fair. Whilst he's only got a year left on his deal at Leeds and they can't be ripped off, he'd be worth so much to them in terms of suitability and, inevitably, goals.

A baseline fee of £10m, with potential add-ons reaching £15m, would be more than acceptable for the Yorkshire side, as activating said bonuses would likely come via promotion back into the Premier League.

You might find that their initial £8m check is a touch on the low side, but there are ways that they can make that up. And, boy should they be doing that on the evidence of the three games we've seen so far this season.