Golden Boot winner Joël Piroe joins West Ham on loan — and scores in a losing home opener

West Ham United have signed striker Joël Piroe on loan from Leeds United for the rest of the 2026/27 season — and the Championship's most reliable goalscorer of recent years needed only one game to get started, scoring on his debut in Saturday's home opener. The afternoon still went wrong: Charlton Athletic won 2-1 at London Stadium, an early jolt to a squad assembled to go straight back up.

Leeds' announcement confirms a straight season-long loan. VAVEL and other outlets report the deal carries an obligation to buy — a package put at around £12m — if West Ham win promotion; neither club has confirmed those terms.

The 27-year-old Dutchman knows exactly what scoring in this division looks like. He joined Leeds from Swansea City in August 2023, and in 2024/25 struck 19 goals in 48 games to win the Championship Golden Boot as Leeds took the title. Since arriving in English football in 2021 he has more Championship goals than any other player in the division over that span — 73 of them.

For Leeds, established back in the Premier League, the loan moves on a player who had slipped down the pecking order while keeping control of his value. For West Ham, it pairs a proven second-tier finisher with record signing Arne Engels, who also debuted against Charlton, in Nuno Espírito Santo's rebuilt side.

One game in, the promotion favourites have their striker — and a reminder that this league rarely cares about reputations.