Leeds United were given a reality check on Saturday when they were hammered 5-0 by Arsenal at The Emirates in their first away game of the Premier League season.

The Whites beat Everton 1-0 at Elland Road on the opening day of the season, lifting the mood instantly, but were brought crashing back down to earth against the Gunners.

During the Sky Sports commentary of the clash with Arsenal, Gary Neville noted that the starting front three for Leeds needed everything to be "perfect" for them to make an impact, due to their lack of physicality.

That front three included Dan James, Joel Piroe, and Wilfried Gnonto, who were all key players in the Championship title-winning campaign last term. The Premier League is a different beast to the Championship, as Neville explained, and Daniel Farke needs more physicality in his frontline.

Leeds will be well aware that they will not be able to be in control in matches as much as they were in the second tier, which means that they will have to do a lot more scrapping and fighting to earn points at this level.

That is why the 2024/25 Championship top goalscorer, Piroe, may eventually find himself watching on from the sidelines more often than not.

Why Joel Piroe may lose his place as a starter

To his credit, Farke has tried to remain fairly faithful to the players who got the club to the Premier League in the first two matches, starting the Dutch striker in both games ahead of Lukas Nmecha.

Unfortunately, however, Piroe's lack of physicality has already been very apparent. The striker has lost ten of his 11 duels in the top-flight so far, per Sofascore, which shows that oppostion centre-backs have found it far too easy to get the better of him in physical battles.

This is not a new concern over the former Swansea City marksman, though, as the left-footed centre-forward struggled with the physicality of the Championship at times in the 2024/25 campaign as well.

As you can see in the table above, Piroe ranked very poorly among his positional peers in a host of physically-based metrics, which is why his start to the Premier League season has not been a surprise.

Leeds were a dominant team that did not need to scrap for second balls and constantly engage in duels in the Championship, which allowed the striker to simply focus on tucking away chances, which he did very well.

Piroe scored 19 goals for Leeds last season, per Sofascore, but his lack of physicality may prevent him from making a similar impact in the Premier League.

That is why a fresh report linking the Championship champions with interest in a physical forward should come as very bad news to the current Whites striker.

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According to AS, as relayed by Sport Witness, Leeds United are one of a number of clubs to have made an approach to Getafe over a potential deal to sign Christantus Uche this summer.

The report claims that the Whites have made contact with the Spanish side to register their interest in the versatile attacker, but they have not formalised their interest with an offer as of yet.

It adds that Sunderland, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Burnley have also made contact with Getafe in pursuit of a possible deal for the Nigeria international.

AS also reveals that Getafe are preparing to cash in on Uche to improve the club's finances and have currently set an asking price of around £17m, but it remains to be seen whether or not any of the four mentioned clubs are prepared to pay that much for him.

Why this is bad news for Joel Piroe

As aforementioned, Piroe's lack of physicality appears to be an issue for him, and the team, in the Premier League, and it could cost him his place in the starting XI.

The club's reported interest in signing Uche is, perhaps, a sign that Farke recognises the need for more physicality at the top end of the pitch, because the Getafe star is an incredibly physical attacker.

In fact, the Nigerian star has played 31 times as a central or defensive midfielder in his career, per Transfermarkt, and U23 scout Antonio Mango claimed that he could be developed into a "midfield monster".

Whilst, due to his experience and potential to play in that role, Farke could utilise Uche in the middle of the park, the 22-year-old played as a striker for Jose Bordalas against Celta Vigo on the opening day of the LaLiga season.

Uche scored and grabbed an assist in a 2-0 win for Getafe away at Celta Vigo, and the clip above shows how the attacker used his mobility and strength to find the back of the net.

As you can see in the table above, the £17m-rated forward also showcased his physicality in LaLiga last season, winning 6.8 duels per game on average, compared to Piroe's 2.24 in the Championship.

Whilst, perhaps because of his outings in midfield as well as up front, Uche is not a prolific goalscorer who is likely to go and score 15 or 20 goals in the Premier League, the Getafe star could be the physical outlet that Leeds are currently lacking.

Leeds United manager Daniel Farke celebrates after the match

Having a 'monster' like Uche to hold the ball up, win flick-ons, and compete with Premier League centre-backs in duels could help the Whites in tight games where they will not be in complete control of the ball.

This is why the club's interest in the forward is bad news for Piroe, because the 22-year-old star is the profile of player who could send the Dutchman down to the bench.