Swansea City tried to keep Joel Piroe but couldn’t “compete” with Leeds United whose bid “exceeded” their internal valuation in some areas, according to Paul Watson.
The Swans sporting director told Wales Online (9 September) that the new Elland Road striker told them he wouldn’t sign a new deal, and once the Whites came in with the benefit of parachute payments they had to sel
The Dutchman, 24, was the headline arrival of the transfer window for Daniel Farke after he signed for an initial £10.5million fee, which could rise as high as £16m [The Athletic, 25 August].
Watson said: “I had a lot of conversations with Joel. I have had conversations with a lot of players. I have said there are two things I will be – I will be fair and I will be honest.
“We ultimately wanted to try to keep Joel but what he wanted and what his representatives wanted wasn’t within the structure of the football club.
“We felt we couldn’t break that structure because of the knock-on effect. That was coupled with an offer that came in. We had an internal valuation and that was met and exceeded in some contingents.
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