Leeds United must quickly seek out replacements for struggling Junior Firpo
Leeds United must quickly seek replacements for struggling defender Junior Firpo before the summer transfer window opens.
The 26-year-old moved to Elland Road in the summer of 2021 from Barcelona in a £13m deal and there were high hopes from a player who had expectations of being a long-term left-back at Camp Nou.
However, Firpo struggled in his first season at the club and battled a number of injuries which gave Leeds fans very few glimpses of his talent.
The former Real Betis did find some form after returning to the side over the past month, but his dreadful performances over the club’s last two crucial fixtures against Crystal Palace on 9 April and Liverpool on Monday [17 April] show he may well be not up to the task of becoming a permanent fixture at left-back for Leeds United in the future.
Javi Gracia’s side went into the game at Elland Road against the Reds knowing they could climb five points above the relegation zone with a win.
However, it was not to be as the Yorkshire club were forced to accept a second straight defeat at home in just over a week after some torrid and dreadful defending for which the former Barcelona man can claim some responsibility.
Firpo was labelled “really poor” by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher after his lacklustre defending for Liverpool’s opening goal.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ coverage of the game in Yorkshire, Jamie Carragher took aim at the left-back ace for his carelessness in the lead-up to the goal:
“I mean, I must say it’s really poor from Firpo. You know, he’s claiming for handball but it’s a really poor touch and then pass as he tries to put it past that man Trent who’s now got two assists in two games and Gakpo gets his goal.”
As per Sofascore, it was a night to forget for full-back as has regularly been the case for the defender who’s become an unfortunate liability, enduring another poor 90 minutes at Elland Road after giving the ball away 15 times throughout the game.
The Dominican Republic defender failed to win any of his ground duels, registered zero key passes, and recorded a poor 67% pass accuracy, whilst also given a dreadful average score of 5.3/10 – the joint-third worst of any Leeds United player to start the game on Monday [17 April].
And given the horrible nature at which the Whites lost the game, Firpo’s night was quite damning, given the runaround by Salah and co. for the whole 90 minutes.
Leeds United will be undergoing much change this summer, regardless of whether they’re in the Premier League or the Championship next season and the left-back position is one which requires urgent addressing.
The club have already been linked with Arsenal’s Kieran Tierney in the past couple of months, but given their position, it will be incredibly difficult to bring in a player of his quality.
However, that shouldn’t stop Leeds United from trying to find some long-term replacements for a player who has regularly struggled to excite Elland Road since his move in 2021. It’d be best for Firpo and the West Yorkshire outfit to part ways this summer.
In other Leeds United news, here’s what our exclusive pundit had to say on the Jean-Kevin Augustin saga at Elland Road.