This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Swansea City's Joel Piroe has emerged as a potential transfer target for Watford this summer.

As per The Athletic, the Hornets have held 'initial exploratory discussions' over a deal for the 22-year-old Dutchman.

Piroe was prolific in the Championship last campaign, scoring 21 league goals and laying on six assists in 44 second-tier outings.

After such a strong campaign, Swansea will surely not want him to go.

With that in mind, we asked some of our writers here at FLW for their thoughts on Piroe being linked to the Hornets, and what sort of fee they thought Swansea would want for a player of his ability.

Declan Harte

Piroe was excellent for Swansea last season, scoring 22 and assisting six, and would be a great addition to Rob Edwards’ side.

Watford could be in need of a consistent goal scorer if the likes of Emmanuel Dennis does depart this transfer window.

However, this could be a costly fee, with Swansea likely able to command a price of up to £8-10 million.

But depending on player sales, that could be a deal Watford are willing to stump up the cash for.

If Edwards sees the forward as an ideal target for his side then the club should look to back their new boss in the market and put their money where their mouth is.

 

 

Ben Wignall

This could prove to be a very expensive deal for Watford.

They will have money to spend when Emmanuel Dennis and Ismaila Sarr inevitably depart, and considering the versatility he showed at Swansea last season, Piroe could be a really good fit at Vicarage Road.

In his first season in Championship football, the Dutchman was prolific and has already ended up being a bargain for the Swans at £1 million, showing that he can score from all kinds of ranges and with both feet as well.

If Rob Edwards is going to splash the cash on anyone this summer, then Piroe would be an ideal acquisition for the forward line, but Swansea understandably would probably loathe seeing him go to a divisional rival.

Chris Gallagher

This would be a very good signing as Piroe has shown in his first season with the Swans that he is a class act.

Not only was he prolific in front of goal, scoring 22 times in 45 games, but he has so much more to his game with the way he can bring others into play with his passing and touch. When you take into account that he's still very young at 22, you can understand why he has serious admirers.

Of course, all of that means Swansea are right to demand a big fee, particularly as he has a few years left on his deal.

The only downside is that he's had just the one good season in English football but even so, that shouldn't prevent the Swans from getting at least £15m if they are forced to cash in, which would be a big profit for the club, although you can be sure that Russell Martin would rather keep the forward!