"My only qualm..." - Leeds United concern issued over Joel Piroe factor in Gus Hamer transfer talks | OneFootball

FLW's Leeds United fan pundit hopes they sign Gus Hamer from Sheffield United but not at the expense of Joel Piroe.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Leeds United continue to be pursuing a move to bring Sheffield United's Gustavo Hamer to Elland Road in a saga that remains unsuccessful, despite recent reports that Joel Piroe could be used in the transfer.

Hamer only joined Sheffield United last summer from Coventry City in a deal worth £15 million, according to The Athletic. He was one of only a few players that were able to come out of the 2023/24 campaign with much credit in a red and white shirt.

The latest reports have emerged that the Whites submitted a swap deal bid for the midfielder, with Piroe the player to head the other way if it was accepted by Chris Wilder's side. Leeds have since denied this claim, but it has raised questions over what Daniel Farke's side are willing to sacrifice to bring Hamer to the club.

Sheffield United had rejected an initial bid of £13 million for the 27-year-old earlier this week, according to The Star, after valuing him at £18 million. However, Leeds remain keen on finalising a deal for Hamer ahead of Friday evening's deadline, with the player also interested in a switch across Yorkshire, as per claims made by GiveMeSport.

Leeds United urged to press on with Gus Hamer pursuit but to keep Joel Piroe

FLW’s Leeds United fan pundit Kris Smith is hopeful that a deal can be struck for Hamer, but has concerns over losing Piroe as part of the deal, given Leeds have very few reliable goalscorers in their team at Championship level, with Mateo Joseph still an unknown at Championship level.

"Signing Gus Hamer would probably be the crowning moment at Leeds this summer in the window, so I can see why the club would probably justify doing anything in their power to sign him.

"He is not going to come cheap, though, obviously. While involving a fairly valuable player in Joel Piroe makes a lot of sense from our side, given that it probably knocks the value down cash-wise that we would have to pay for him.

"On the other side of that, I can see why Blades wouldn't be receptive to Piroe. He's quite a hard player to fit in for a lot of teams, especially if they are playing a 4-2-3-1. "He doesn't really fit that, as we have found out from the last 12 months. "On the other hand, if a deal for Piroe is true and is successful, then with Leeds swapping the two players around and getting Hamer in return, I have no doubt would significantly improve our line-up and the balance of our squad as well. "My only qualm with offering Piroe out like that, is that it would leave us quite worryingly short of striker options.

"Given that, other than Piroe, we have Patrick Bamford and Mateo Joseph to pick from. One of them can't stay fit and the other is only a 20-year-old."

Leeds United and Sheffield United's Gus Hamer talks

Deals involving player swaps are exceedingly rare, given both clubs have to be interested on the other player, which involves so many moving parts in order to get deals of this nature over the line.

For the reasons Smith mentions, Leeds should be looking to retain Piroe, and instead should be willing to pay the up front fee, given that they have offered £13 million and the Blades want £18 million.