A Leeds United first team player has pledged his international allegiance to the Caribbean country where his father was born.

Joel Piroe has been 'locked in' according to a post on the Suriname official Instagram account and he explained his father's pride and the chance to make history informed his decision.

The striker was born in the Netherlands and played international football in orange at youth level up to Under-20. But through his father he also qualifies for Suriname, who have found themselves in a World Cup qualification play-off semi-final against Bolivia. Victory in March would pit them against Iraq for a chance to play in this summer's major tournament.

“I thought long and hard about it, about if I would choose Suriname or not, and when I spoke to my dad about it, I saw this twinkle in his eye that would make him very proud,” Piroe told his club's website. “At the end I had a good feeling about it and I really want to write history with Suriname. I have been to Suriname many times. It was always a special place, especially knowing that my dad and my family grew up there. I like to see how they have lived there, and as well to feel the culture, how joyful and outgoing the people are there. It is something that I carry with me as well on the pitch."

The World Cup qualifying opportunity is one that excites Piroe but he will also have the chance to work under head coach Henk ten Cate and his assistants Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Winston Bogarde.

“There are huge games to qualify for the World Cup," said Piroe. "It is very exciting. We really look forward to playing those games, starting with Bolivia. We all know what is on the line and we all believe a lot in it as well. Also why I chose to play for them is because I get to work not only with Henk ten Cate, who has been an amazing coach for many years already, I also get to work with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. I think that he is someone I could learn quite a bit from as well.

"First, of course, still the focus to make sure that we get the next points, make the next steps towards our goal at Leeds United, and then afterwards also for my country.”

Piroe was the Championship's Golden Boot winner last season for Leeds in the Championship and wrestled the number 9 spot off Mateo Joseph early on in the campaign. This season he has found himself behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Lukas Nmecha and Noah Okafor in the pecking order but still came off the bench against Manchester United and came close to a dramatic late winner. The striker is expected to feature on Sunday when Daniel Farke rotates his squad for the FA Cup game at Derby County.