Leeds United news as Southampton manager reveals Joel Piroe was never ‘an option’ for the Saints.
Check out the latest Leeds United morning headlines before of their Championship match against Southampton at lunchtime.
Here are today’s Leeds United headlines for Saturday, September 30.
Martin’s admission about Piroe
Southampton manager Russell Martin admits he did not contemplate signing Joel Piroe before he joined Leeds United. The Saints were linked with a bid for the frontman while he was still at Swansea, with Daniel Farke and his team completing the transfer before the transfer deadline.
He’s been a terrific signing for Leeds so far, but ahead of today’s game at St Mary’s, Martin stated that Piroe – with whom he previously worked at Sweanse – was never a possibility.
“He’s an outstanding player,” he stated. “He was never a player we considered because of the options we have up front.” Would I have preferred him? Naturally, I enjoyed working with him. He’s a fantastic character and a fantastic finisher. He was someone who believed in whatever we proposed.
“Me and Joel had a rough start in life. He was excellent when we made it very clear to him what we wanted of him. He’s been one of the finest attackers and scorers in the Championship, so it’s no surprise that he’s started so well.
“We have people on the field who know him well and understand his game.” That should be helpful. Would he have contributed to this organization and assisted us at some point? Yes. Was that ever a possibility? No, because we have fantastic choices here that we are very satisfied with, and we ended up signing one (Ross Stewart) who will make a significant contribution when he is fit.”
Leeds United’s roster for the match against Southampton has been revealed.
Patrick Bamford will travel with Daniel Farke to face Southampton in today’s early Championship kick-off. The Leeds United number nine was hurt with a hamstring injury just before the start of the new season and is now close to making his first-team debut after returning to training earlier this month.
Leeds travel to St Mary’s seeking to extend their recent remarkable run of form, which has seen them move into the play-off positions and go six games unbeaten, with no goals surrendered in their past four games. Farke, who praised the former England striker in his pre-match press conference, now has another offensive option in Bamford.
Southampton insider’s perspective on Martin pressure being dropped against Leeds
Leeds United will try to extend their unbeaten run in the Championship to seven games this afternoon when they face Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium. Daniel Farke’s side is chasing the top two, and they’ll be trying to pile more misery on the Saints, who have lost their previous four league games.
Before the game, we spoke with Hampshire Live’s Southampton correspondent Mark Wyatt about all things Saints.
