Swansea City manager Russell Martin has indicated that Joel Piroe may be sold this summer with Rangers reportedly keen on one of the Championship’s hottest goalscorers.
It’s to the credit of the former PSV Eindhoven youngster that, even while Swansea have descended into mid-table mediocrity since his 2021 arrival in South Wales, Piroe has still found goals very easy to come by. Exceedingly so, in fact.
There were 24 in his debut season at the Liberty Stadium. A further 19 this. An instinctive and highly-technical finisher off both feet, Piroe’s outstanding track record for a rather limited side could, like fellow Championship addition Todd Cantwell, make him a potentially match-winning talent at Scottish Premiership level.
Football League World reported back in March that Rangers – alongside Middlesbrough and recently-promoted Burnley – are among those keeping tabs.
Piroe has just one year left on his Swansea contract. And Martin – the former Ibrox centre-half – admits that a Swansea side who have lost so many key players in recent transfer windows may be forced to cash in on another.
Rangers like Swansea City striker Joel Piroe
“I’m sure there will be (clubs targeting Piroe). Well, I know there is,” Martin tells the BBC. “If it was down to me (Piroe’s contract) would have been sorted a long time ago. But it’s not.
“While it’s frustrating that you may end up losing players of Joel’s ilk, like Flynn Downes last summer, maybe Joel this summer, with a year left on his contract, we have to accept that may be a possibility.”
“In an ideal world, you would keep this group of young players together. But if you have to lose one or two players along the way to go again, that’s the model.
“He’s been outstanding. I hope we get to work with him for longer and I hope we’re both here for longer. But we’ll have to wait and see.
“We offered him a contract a while ago, but it’s every player’s prerogative not to sign that. We’re in that situation now, and we have to deal with it.”
Piroe could replace Alfredo Morelos, with the Colombian’s contract expiring in July. Rangers are reportedly also keeping tabs on Serbian youngster Petar Ratkov. Blackpool’s Jerry Yates has also been linked.
