Read up on the morning news for Leeds United before their Championship game against Southampton at noon.
Russell Martin, the manager of Southampton, claims that he didn’t think about signing Joel Piroe before he joined Leeds United. When the frontman was still with Swansea, the Saints were connected with a bid for him, but Daniel Farke and company sealed the deal before the transfer deadline.
Although he has so far made a strong impression for Leeds, Martin said that Piroe—with whom he had previously collaborated at Sweanse—had never been a consideration before to today’s match at St. Mary’s.
He declared, “He’s an amazing player. Due to the options we have up front, he was never a player we considered as a possibility. Would I’ve desired him? I loved working with him, of course. He has a fantastic personality and finishes everything well. He was someone who supported whatever we proposed.
“Joel and I had a difficult beginning to our lives. He was fantastic once we made it very clear to him what we wanted of him. Given that he has always been among the best attackers and goal scorers in the Championship, it is not surprising that he has had a slow start.
“We have people on the pitch that know him very well and the
y know his game. That will hopefully help us. Would he have added to this group and helped us at some point? Yes. Was it ever an option? No, because we have brilliant options here that we are really happy with and we ended up signing one (Ross Stewart) who will contribute hugely when he is fit.”
Patrick Bamford will go with Daniel Farke’s team to face Southampton in today’s early Championship match. The number nine for Leeds United had a hamstring injury just before the new season began, but after returning to practice earlier this month, he is now getting close to making his first-team comeback.
Leeds will attempt to carry on their good recent run of play at St Mary’s, which has seen them move into the play-off positions, go six games without a loss, and allow no goals in their previous four games. Farke has Bamford as another offensive option after praising the former England striker in his pre-game press conference.
When Leeds United plays Southampton at St. Mary’s Stadium this afternoon, they will be attempting to make it seven games without a loss in the Championship. With the top two in their sights, Daniel Farke’s team will want to inflict even more suffering on the Saints, who have dropped their previous four league games.
We spoke with Hampshire Live’s Southampton correspondent Mark Wyatt ahead of the game to talk Saints-related topics.
Leave a Reply