Leeds United could lose star full-back Junior Firpo after a European team made their interest known.
The Dominican Republic international is in his final year of his contract at Elland Road and sides could start speaking to Firpo as soon as January for a free-agent move. The 28-year-old has already played 10 times for Daniel Farke’s side and has returned from the international break in fine form, scoring three times across two games.
Spanish side plotting a move?
According to reports from Mundo Deportivo, Real Betis are eager on a move for The Whites’ star defender and would like to bring him back to Spain in January. He had previously played for the Seville club through their academy system and played the 2018/19 season with the first team before making a switch to Barcelona.
Questions around signing a new deal with Leeds stems from the uncertainty of which league the club will be playing in next season, having failed to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking thanks to their play-off final loss to Southampton. According to Leeds Live, no such discussions around signing a renewed contract have taken place yet.
Los Verdiblancos are playing European football through the UEFA Conference League, but have struggled so far in the domestic league and are sitting in 10th place having lost to local rivals Sevilla in their last match.
Can Leeds handle losing Firpo?
Should he depart the club, Leeds can look to back-up left-back Sam Byram. The former Norwich City man has been a go-to bench option for Farke this season, recording appearances in the club’s last seven games.
The 31-year-old was mainly deployed on the other flank last season, playing 34 games for the club before a summer move for Sheffield United’s Jayden Bogle pushed him down the pecking order.
Writer’s View
This season, much like the last, is make or break for Leeds United’s chances of keeping their stars. Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter were both poached by Premier League sides last season and should Daniel Farke miss out on promotion once again it feels almost certain that players like Junior Firpo and Willy Gnonto would also be leaving. Until then, United need to focus on getting as many results as they can and hope they can convince their star assets will stay with promotion back to the top flight.
