“There’s no denying he is a very good player, But, I just don’t see how he suits this current Leeds team, We already have Joel Piroe”- Leeds applauded for pulling out of race to sign Sammie Szmodics as pundit says player is no different from Joel Piroe

Leeds United’s preparations for the forthcoming Championship season are only intensifying at the current moment.

Once again, being one of the strong forces in the second tier means that United are never too far away from a hefty amount of transfer speculation on both the incoming and outgoing fronts.

Daniel Farke’s squad is somewhat in need of a rebuild after failing to regain their Premier League status after a solitary season, as they fell short in the play-offs, losing to Southampton at Wembley Stadium on May 26th.

Understandably, interest in a number of star performers at Elland Road has only gained further traction as a result, but putting the shoe on the other foot, the West Yorkshire side have also been linked with some of the second tier’s high-profile names from last season.

However, they aren’t pressing forward in their advances to acquire one of those.

That’s in reference to last season’s Championship ‘Golden Boot’ winner, Sammie Szmodics of Blackburn Rovers. It was initially claimed by the Daily Mirror that United were set to battle it out with Premier League newcomers Ipswich Town for the 28-year-old’s services.

However, it has since been revealed by the Yorkshire Post that sources close to the LS11 outfit state the club are looking at other targets to bolster their attacking department, with Alan Nixon also reporting that United are yet to follow up on their “initial contact” as the Tractor Boys eye an £8.5m+ swoop for the Rovers ace.

Despite Szmodics’ remarkable campaign which saw him net 33 times across 48 appearances in all competitions, 27 of which came in the second tier, FLW’s Leeds fan pundit, Kris Smith, believes that it perhaps wouldn’t have been the wisest of deals anyway.

“There can’t be any denying that Sammie Szmodics is a very good player,” Smith began. “Particularly when it comes to his strengths, such as how well he takes his chances and his movement to get into those positions.

“But, I just don’t see how he suits this current Leeds team,” he stated. “His brilliance last season at Blackburn came through his ability to find space on the counter and take one-on-one’s. That’s what most of his opportunities came through and the goals that he scored.

“Those sorts of opportunities would be in very short supply at Elland Road, given that most teams sit deep against us every week and rarely give us space for two-on-two’s on the counter-attack like that.

“We already have Joel Piroe as well, who plays the same sort of half number nine, half number 10 role. Obviously, there’s differences in how Piroe and Szmodics play, but it’s the same position on the pitch and the same sort of role,” Smith continued.

“And it’s hard to see where Piroe fits, so signing Szmodics on top of that, really wouldn’t have been wise. It wouldn’t make much sense for our squad building, even if Farke’s considering the 3-4-2-1 system we trialed against Harrogate, albeit we haven’t seen it since.”

He concluded: “Outside of his finishing ability being some of the best in the division, I just don’t see there being much upside to Szmodics’ game that Leeds can really tap into. Not to mention he’s already in his peak years right now, and a big signing wouldn’t really have any re-sale value.”

In a similar vein to Szmodics’ current predicament, Piroe was also signed as a big-money transfer from Swansea City this time last year after being such a potent goalscorer in South Wales, but his struggles since moving north point towards United not wanting to replicate a similar mistake this time around.

On the surface, it does seem wild to claim that someone with 13 league goals (14 including play-offs) in their first season at a new club has slightly underwhelmed, but Piroe often blew hot and cold at Elland Road last term, with Farke deploying him in a deeper role on numerous occasions, especially during Patrick Bamford’s purple patch after the turn of the calendar year.

Whilst the current fee surrounding Ipswich’s swoop for the Republic of Ireland international is half of what United will potentially pay Swansea for the Dutchman’s services, it would have been unwise for Farke to pursue Szmodics’ signature and then risk an identical scenario playing out.