Joël Mohammed Ramzan Piroe (born 2 August 1999) is a Dutch professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for club

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

Career

Early career

Piroe started playing football at the age of five for SCE Nijmegen and played youth football for

Quick 1888 Quick 1888 (also referred to as Quick Nijmegen) is an amateur sporting club from Nijmegen, Netherlands. It was founded in 1888 as a cricket club and currently plays football in the Tweede Klasse, which is the fifth level of amateur football. As ...

and SC Woezik, after which he was signed to the youth academy of

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...

. He first played as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

and

left midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. The coach of the under-12 team of NEC chose to play Piroe as a

, due to the many goals he scored. He then moved to the youth academy of

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...

, and a year later – in 2014 – joined the PSV academy. He signed his first professional contract with the

Eindhoven Eindhoven ( ; ) is a city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, located in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant, of which it is the largest municipality, and is also locat ...

-based club in November 2016. Piroe made his professional debut in the

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (; ) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the Keuken Kampioen Divisie due to sponsorship reasons, while ...

for

Jong PSV Jong PSV is a Dutch football team based in Eindhoven. It is the reserve team of PSV Eindhoven and plays in the Eerste Divisie since the 2013–14 season. History Until 2013, Jong PSV played in the Beloften Eredivisie, a league exclusively fo ...

on 2 December 2016 in a game against

Achilles '29 Achilles '29 is a football club from Groesbeek, Netherlands, competing in the seventh-tier Tweede Klasse. The club is known for its successes in the Dutch domestic cup, having knocked FC Volendam, Heracles Almelo, RKC Waalwijk, Telstar and ...

. PSV sent Piroe on a one-year loan to

Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands. Sparta currently competes in the Eredivisie, the top flig ...

in August 2019. He made his debut in the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

on 25 August 2019, coming on for

Ragnar Ache Ragnar Prince Friedel Ache (born 28 July 1998) is a German professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for club 1. FC Köln. Career Born in Frankfurt, Germany, Ache started his career in ...

in the 60th minute away against

PEC Zwolle Prins Hendrik Ende Desespereert Nimmer Combinatie Zwolle, commonly known as PEC Zwolle, is a Dutch professional football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football. They have played in the Ered ...

– a game which ended in a 2–2 draw.

Swansea City

On 2 July 2021, Piroe moved to Wales to join

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

on a three-year deal, joining for an undisclosed fee, reported to be in the region of £1 million with the potential to rise up to £2 million. He scored on his Swansea debut in an

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

tie against

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

on 10 August 2021.

Leeds United

On 24 August 2023, Leeds United signed Piroe on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee, believed to be above £10 million. He scored on his Leeds debut against

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

on 26 August 2023 in a 4–3 victory. On 21 April 2025, he netted four goals in a 6–0 victory over

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

, securing his team's promotion to the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

. On 3 May 2025, Piroe won the 2024-25 Championship title with Leeds following a 2–1 win over

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

Home Park Home Park is a football stadium in the area of Milehouse, Plymouth, Devon, England. With a capacity of 17,900, the ground has been the home of Plymouth Argyle Football Club since 1903, and was also used between 1900 and 1903 by Argyle Athlet ...

. He was also awarded the Golden Boot for the same season after scoring a league-high 19 goals with Leeds.

Personal life

Born in the Netherlands, Piroe is of Surinamese descent.

Career statistics

Honours

Leeds United *

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

: 2024–25 Individual *

UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply the Euro Under-19, is an annual football competition, contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Spain is the most successful team in this competit ...

Golden Boot:

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Player of the Year: 2021–22 * EFL Championship Golden Boot: 2024–25 * ''The Athletic'' Championship Team of the Season: 2024–25

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Piroe, Joel 1999 births Living people People from Wijchen Footballers from Gelderland Dutch men's footballers Men's association football forwards Jong PSV players PSV Eindhoven players Sparta Rotterdam players Quick 1888 players NEC Nijmegen players Feyenoord players SC Woezik players Swansea City A.F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players Dutch expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Wales Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Wales English Football League players Dutch sportspeople of Surinamese descent 21st-century Dutch sportsmen