Swansea City may have had nothing to play for on the final day of the Championship season. But that did not mean Joel Piroe was ever going rock up against West Bromwich Albion with a bucket and space under his arm, looking forward to a Monday afternoon at the metaphorical beach.
Baggies boss Carlos Corberan, however, will be wishing he had. It was Piroe’s stoppage-time free-kick which hammered the final nail into West Brom’s play off coffin, all the while ensuring that Swansea and Albion finished level on points with 66 apiece.
If this is Piroe’s final hit of a ball in Swansea colours, it’ll be a fitting way to sign off.
According to Football League World, Rangers, Middlesbrough and Premier League-bound Burnley are among those keeping tabs on the former PSV Eindhoven youngster.
Swans boss – and former Ibrox defender – Russell Martin has already admitted that Piroe could be on his way. And, after hitting the 20-goal barrier for a second successive season, the scrap for his signature is likely to be as hotly-contested as the Championship’s hectic, final day play-off battle.
Will Rangers sign Swansea City’s Joel Piroe?
“It’s incredible. I’m very pleased that I reached (20 goals again),” Piroe tells the club’s official website.
With that 93rd minute thunderbolt against West Brom, the deadly Dutchman became the first Swansea player in 14 years to score 20 in consecutive seasons.
“I’m really pleased,” Piroe adds. “I’m proud of that.”
Piroe’s 20 goals, per FootyStats, came from an XG of just 13. He is not only a great goalscorer but a scorer of great goals; locating the bottom corner with laser-like precision with either foot. If Rangers can lure Piroe to Ibrox – and the prospect of that cannot be discounted with just one year left on his contract – Mick Beale will be getting hits mitts on a striker capable of bridging the gap between themselves and newly-crowned Premiership champions Celtic.
Beale, following the 1-0 win over Aberdeen, took aim at the ‘wasteful’ nature of his Gers side.
“I think we’re probably the most wasteful team in the final third I’ve ever seen,” he told the Daily Record. “At both ends of the pitch, we’re going to need to be a lot stronger next year.”
With 20 goals from an XG of 13, if there’s one word you cannot use to describe Piroe, it’s ‘wasteful’.
