Joel Piroe's full stats show why West Ham are completing a brilliant deal

West Ham United are in talks with Leeds United over a potential deal for striker Joel Piroe.

Talks are reportedly advancing for the 27-year-old, who is expected to join on loan with an obligation to buy.

The Dutch forward made just 21 appearances across all competitions last season, including only 16 in the Premier League.

But Piroe has a history of scoring goals in the Championship, having fired Leeds to the Premier League with 19 in the 2024-25 season.

West Ham are keen to add a striker to their squad after Callum Wilson left on a free transfer, with Niclas Fullkrug also likely to leave in the coming days.

Taty Castellanos is likely to stay at the club, with Piroe expected to compete with Piroe potentially set to play alongside him if he joins.

How has Joel Piroe fared in the Championship?

If West Ham are looking for guaranteed goals in the Championship, then there are few better places to look than at Piroe.

The striker joined Swansea from PSV in 2021, signing in a deal worth just £1million after struggling in Eredivisie.

The Championship, however, seemed to be the perfect league for him, and he netted 22 goals and provided six assists in his opening campaign.

Subsequent seasons have seen Piroe score 19, 14 and 19 again, with much of the focus pointed on his last Championship campaign.

The Dutchman also provided seven assists in that season, and recorded several dazzling stats.

Piroe averaged 2.97 shots - in the 96th percentile of all players in the league - and 1.08 chances created per game, with an average of 4.57 touches in the opposition box.

Incredibly, the striker's 0.50 expected goals per game was in the top six per cent of the Championship, and his 0.47 non-penalty expected goals per game matched by only 2.4 per cent of the league.

He got his defensive work done, too, completing 2.65 recoveries per game and winning possession in the final third 0.84 times on average, matched by only 11 per cent of forwards in the league.

West Ham's main Piroe concern

A potential fee for Piroe has been mentioned in the region of £15m, although West Ham will hope to pay less.

For that type of money, the Hammers will receive a striker well versed in the Championship and more than capable of scoring the goals needed for promotion.

However, the problem is what happens if they are promoted to the Premier League. The Dutchman was not given much of a chance at Leeds last season, but looked off the pace when he did feature.

If West Ham are indeed promoted, they may well be left with a £15m problem stuck back on the bench.