Leeds United confidently put Cardiff City to the sword 2-0 last time out in the Welsh capital, with now ex-Bluebirds boss Erol Bulut relieved of his duties in the aftermath of Daniel Farke’s Whites picking up a straightforward three points.
The away side needed to get back to winning ways after a flat 1-0 loss to Burnley the match before, with the hosts brushed to one side eventually, to allow Leeds to pick up their third win of the early Championship season so far.
Farke would have been pleased with his side’s performance on the road, as Leeds new boy Largie Ramazani opened his account for his new club to get the Whites up and running away from home, before reliable impact substitute Joel Piroe delivered the goods again to make sure of the win.
Ramazani & Piroe's performances vs Cardiff
The 2-0 victory wouldn’t have been possible without the exploits of this attacking duo, with the ex-Almeria man standing out for the majority of the contest down the right channel, before Piroe was drafted in late on to make sure of the three points.
Despite scoring the decisive opener in the first half, the former Manchester United youth product could have even more to shout about from a goalscoring perspective on his first start for his new employers, with one big chance missed on top of a fierce effort thankfully beating Jan Alnwick.
As the game wore on, Farke decided that a change in personnel in the attacking positions was needed, with Piroe known to be a dependable option to throw into games when opposition legs are tiring.
The former Swansea City man only needed 16 minutes of action against Hull City to score at the back-end of August, with only 14 minutes needed in Wales for the Dutchman to leave his impact on yet another Championship tie.
Amazingly, the instinctive 25-year-old would only need to amass four touches of the ball to find the back of the net, with his crucial strike against the Bluebirds taking his Leeds total goal tally to 16 strikes from 56 games.
Both players moving forward will undoubtedly help their side when contests become even more nervy and tense as the season drags on, but both Leeds assets find that their pay packets are lesser when weighed up next to Sam Byram’s – according to Capology – despite the fact the ageing full-back’s own importance has definitely begun to wane in Farke’s camp.
Byram's wage in 2024
As per Capology, Byram currently finds himself earning a healthy £20k-per-week at the West Yorkshire club, despite only averaging ten minutes of action this season when thrown into action four times in the league. His only start came in the EFL Cup defeat to Middlesbrough.
The 31-year-old could still be seen as a useful utility figure to have around, considering the fact that the ex-West Ham United man can play at both left-back and right-back if needed, but his wage still feels extortionate next to other more key first-team presences.
Player
Wage
League games played
Minutes averaged
Largie Ramazani
£17.5k-per-week
3
37
Joel Piroe
£15k-per-week
6
24
Ilia Gruev
£15k-per-week
6
86
Mateo Joseph
£15k-per-week
6
85
Looking at the table above, away from the aforementioned Ramazani and Piroe both earning a lesser £17.5k-per-week and £15k-per-week respectively, both Ilia Gruev and Mateo Joseph – who have been largely everpresent this season under Farke in the league – also both earn £5k-per-week less than the reserve defender.
With Isaac Schmidt now at the German’s disposal in defence too, who can also play in either full-back spot, Byram gaining consistent minutes for his employers on a week in week-out basis looks like it’ll be harder to come by.
Farke will have to have some conversations with the 31-year-old down the line about his immediate Whites future, with his contract up next summer, whilst Ramazani, Piroe and the other named faces aim to play a major part in Leeds finally winning promotion back up to the Premier League.
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ByDan Emery