Rob Davies
Russell Martin is hopeful that Joel Piroe will be part of his team for next season but admits he will attract significant interest in the summer transfer window after he reached the 20 goal mark for the campaign.
Leicester City are credited with serious interest in the Dutchman according to Voetbal International in his home country Holland and there’s no doubt they would have sufficient funds to offer whatever it would take for the Swans to part with Piroe.
The Swans signed the player from PSV last summer for a fee understood to be less than £1m and one would expect that it would need to be an eight figure sum for the club to part with a talent as good as Piroe.
He spent considerable time learning under PSV Jong’s manager Ruud van Nistelrooy which probably helped to develop his calmness and clinical prowess in front of goal – the former Man United striker is now set to become the manager of the first team this summer.
Whether it’ll be Leicester City or another team, it’s looking increasingly likely that the Swans will find it hard to resist offers for Piroe this summer – the question is just how much those offers will be?
Voetbal International also report that PSV have a sell on clause for any future sale of Piroe so that’s something that’ll have to be under consideration.
“I think that’s one of the reasons we were brought in, to play in a way that would improve the players, add value to the players and create assets for the club,” said Martin when asked if he expects clubs to come calling for the former Netherlands Under-20 international.
“We said that from day one, that was part of the role. But the best chance we have of getting to where we want to get to in a period of time is to try and keep a group of young men together that continually improve and grow.
“We’ll have to wait and see. If it’s something we have to cross in the summer, we’ll try and deal with it. Of course, we want him to be here for as long as we possibly can.
“He’s a beautiful footballer and a brilliant finisher. He just needs to continue with the same attitude. There’s a lot more to come. He’s only a young man in his first season here so it excites us a lot that we still think there’s a lot left for him to get out of himself.”
Will we see Piroe playing for Brendan Rodgers soon?
