West Ham transfer looks a bargain as Stoke City news drops | OneFootball

West Ham United's move for Joel Piroe looks even better amid Stoke City's big money move for George Hirst.

West Ham United are expected to challenge for the Championship title this season and the signing of Joel Piroe is only expected to enhance those aspirations - and they've got a great deal with him, too.

Having returned to the second-tier for the first time in over a decade and a half, West Ham boast one of the strongest squads perhaps ever seen at the level.

Captained by England international forward Jarrod Bowen and managed by Nuno Espírito Santo, a former Championship title winner with Wolverhampton Wanderers, many expect The Irons to be leading contenders for the title this season - if not perhaps runaway winners.

Their business thus far this summer has been relatively circumspect but is beginning to pick up pace as they work out exactly where and how they can strengthen.

After the permanent addition of Kleiber Lamadrid, following a loan spell last year, West Ham have now signed Joel Veltman, Manor Solomon and Arne Engels as they continue to add to a stacked squad.

Now a signing has been made in the final third with Leeds United attacker Joel Piroe moving to the London Stadium on a season-long loan deal.

Already seeming like a coup at the eventual quoted purchase price of £8 million next summer, West Ham will only be more emboldened in their satisfaction at their business by news of Stoke City's move for George Hirst and the similar fee that The Potters are shelling out for the Scotland international.

George Hirst deal offers further context to West Ham's Joel Piroe coup

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It has been reported that George Hirst is set to sign for Stoke City from Ipswich Town, having helped The Tractor Boys earn their return to the Premier League last season.

A good signing on the face of it, the package is reported to be worth up to £10 million with £6 million up-front and £4 million in add-ons.

Piroe's move to West Ham may eventually see him move for £8 million, rising to £12 million - ever so slightly higher and yet for a far superior operator at the level.

Last season, Hirst became Ipswich's main man up-front over the long-term for the first time since he initially joined the club on loan from Leicester City when in League One back in the 2022-23 campaign.

As they finished as runners' up to Coventry City, Hirst banged in 11 goals for the Suffolk-based outfit - finishing as their third top scorer behind wingers Jack Clarke and Jaden Philogene.

A worthwhile contribution and one that earned him a spot in Scotland's FIFA World Cup 2026 squad but also not a contribution that has deemed him good enough to stick around at Portman Road in the Premier League.

Moving for a similar fee in the same week that Piroe has joined West Ham puts into perspective just how good a deal The Hammers have got for themselves.

Joel Piroe is another gun for West Ham in the Championship

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More attackers may yet be deemed necessary by Nuno and the West Ham hierarchy but their current attack that has been assembled still strikes fear into the rest of the division.

Bowen staying is perhaps the best piece of business any club could have done in any league in the world this summer, while Taty Castellanos has impressed since arriving from Lazio in January and Manor Solomon provides both promotion-winning experience and, generally, top-flight quality, too.

In Leeds' title-winning campaign in the 2024-25 Championship season, Piroe scored 19 goals and finished up as their top scorer at the top of a star-studded attack for the level.

Unlike Hirst, Leeds still believed in Piroe to big enough to stick around in their squad in the top-flight, albeit he did fail to score in 16 Premier League appearances last season.

In total, Hirst has scored 43 league goals in his career with 18 of those coming in the second-tier across 98 appearances on loan at Rotherham United and Blackburn Rovers before two seasons at the level with Ipswich.

Piroe, on the other hand, had scored more league goals at PSV Eindhoven, Sparta Rotterdam and Swansea City than Hirst had in his career by the time he left for Leeds back in the summer of 2023.

In the second-tier, Piroe has hit double figures in all four of his seasons at the level - winning the Golden Boot with Leeds in the 2024-25 campaign.

Younger than Hirst, both at 27 but with Hirst turning 28 mid-way through the upcoming campaign, it cannot even be argued that Piroe's qualities will diminish quicker than the Scotsman due to age or general development - and that perhaps is the biggest reason to be impressed by West Ham's business.

West Ham have been smarter than many may have expected

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With a huge budget for the division, only bolstered by the big money sales of Crysencio Summerville and Mateus Fernandes, it would have been fairly easy for West Ham to have been a bit 'daft', for want of a better phrase.

Many teams come down, or even simply stay around doing the same thing, and spend heavily on an almost entirely new squad or on players that don't suit the league or need time to develop to the manager.

The Irons' more circumspect approach and waiting for the big opportunities that have presented themselves to them, such as Engels and Solomon as well as Piroe, can only stand them further in good stead as they get up and running this season.

Stoke are not the benchmark for recruitment in the second-tier and, in fact, the business that they have done is representative of one of those teams that stick around doing the same thing; spending big, getting poor results and not improving, as they have again this summer with the outcome of course yet to be determined - but signings like Hirst, when put against Piroe's move, suggest lessons have not yet been learned, somehow.

West Ham didn't need much help or too many star additions to look like title winners - and yet they have still managed to pull off some eye-catching signings.

It could well be that Hirst goes on to be more of a success at Stoke than Piroe at West Ham but the evidence thus far would suggest West Ham have got even more of a bargain than they may have realised previously.