Sam Parkin believes Southampton have missed out big time by failing to sign Joel Piroe, who joined Leeds.
Sam Parkin has claimed that Southampton would be in a ‘different stratosphere’ had they managed to sign Joel Piroe ahead of Leeds United this summer.
The Dutch forward had been outstanding for Swansea in the Championship over the past two years, so it’s no surprise there was plenty of interest in the player this summer.
A host of clubs were linked with Piroe, but Leeds and Southampton emerged as the frontrunners, and it was the Whites who won the race.
And, the early signs have been positive, with Piroe scoring three in three for his new club, including a brace against Millwall last time out, one of which was a classy finish.
Meanwhile, Saints fell to a third consecutive defeat as they failed to score in a 1-0 loss to Ipswich last night.
So, it seems like Piroe made the right choice at this moment in time, and Parkin told the ‘What the EFL?’ podcast that Southampton’s failure to land Piroe could be one they live to regret, as he discussed his impact at The Den.
“His two touches are beautiful (first goal against Millwall). He and Rutter are going to have a great partnership. The finish when you’re moving like that are the signs of a top quality marksman. I think he’s very, very good. I thought he would have immediately thrown Southampton into a different stratosphere had he gone there, as I think he’s a brilliant signing.”
With Southampton having scored one goal in three games, most are going to agree with Parkin’s assessment here, and you can understand why, because Piroe is a top quality player at this level.
However, on paper, scoring goals shouldn’t be a problem for the south coast outfit, as they have Adam Armstrong and Che Adams in the squad, along with a lot of creative players. Plus, they will welcome Ross Stewart into the group over the next few weeks, so it’s certainly not a case that they lack talent.
That would indicate there are issues with the system, so you could argue that they should’ve moved for Piroe as he has worked with Martin and wouldn’t have needed time to adapt.
Ultimately though, the Southampton chief can have no complaints about the quality of his squad, and he simply needs to find a formula that gets them playing to their potential.
