Daniel Farke warns Leeds United man of the moment his place is not guaranteed in boost to young rival

United face Derby County, Blackburn Rovers and Hull City before January 5, on the back of two quick-fire contests versus Oxford United and Stoke in recent days.

As a result, Farke plans to utilise the entirety of his Leeds United first-team squad to guard against injuries, manage players' workloads and keep as many key individuals as fit as possible.

"Joel Piroe, we don't have to discuss," Farke began, following the Dutchman's brace against the Potters. "There's no other player on this level who has got more goals in the last three-and-a-half years. For Swansea, it was 22 and 19, for us in the last season, 13, although he played a lot in a bit of a deeper role, and also not each and every game, not always in the starting lineup. Right now, although he didn't play each and every game, and was also sometimes substitute or not even the starting lineup to be there on nine goals, I think at the moment, is quite impressive, and he's a key player for us."

Piroe is Leeds' top scorer with nine goals from 23 games this term, adding four assists to his season tally in the process. Only Josh Maja (10) of West Bromwich Albion and Norwich City's Borja Sainz (15) have netted more frequently in the Championship during 2024/25. Meanwhile, waiting in the wings are Mateo Joseph and Patrick Bamford, both of whom have had a spell as Farke's first choice during the calendar year.

While Bamford's minutes have been severely limited this season, Joseph can take encouragement from Farke's rotation statement, that he, too, is likely to be afforded more opportunities from the start, to prove himself just as Piroe did in reclaiming the No. 9 position earlier in the campaign.

"To be honest, we're not like - perhaps there are some - other teams who can afford to have a look [at the race for the Championship] Golden Boot or something like this. We have better, more important topics to worry about. And for that, we will also rotate a bit and keep the players sharp. We are Leeds United, we have also lots of competition, so even from now on, Joel won't play each and every second right now," Farke added.

Leeds face a quick turnaround before their next fixture away at Derby County on Sunday, December 29 as they seek to record back-to-back away wins for only the second time this season.

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