Leeds sign Junior Firpo: how visit from Orta helped beat Serie A clubs to player top of Barcelona’s fitness tests - The Athletic 6/7/21

By Adam Crafton and Mark Carey

Even for those Leeds United supporters who rapidly reacquainted themselves with the high life of the Premier League, certain moments come along that provoke renewed anticipation.

For many, it might have been victories over Manchester City and Tottenham in the second half of last season. For some, however, a buzz arises from their club’s ambition and exploits in the transfer market. Upon promotion to the Premier League last summer, Leeds spent boldly on Spanish internationals Rodrigo and Diego Llorente from Valencia and Real Sociedad at a combined cost of £45 million. Both players discovered their best form towards the end of the campaign and should only grow stronger next season. The £16 million addition of Raphinha, meanwhile, proved to be one of the shrewdest acquisitions of last summer’s window. Taking together those three signings, as well as goalkeeper Ilan Meslier and defender Robin Koch, Leeds spent £80 million.

This summer, therefore, had always been intended to be a little more measured, particularly as several of last summer’s deals are spread across several years. It has also been several years since Leeds sold a player for a considerable fee. This trend is not forecast to change this summer. At the end of last season, the club resolved to do everything in their power to keep key players and safeguard their position in the Premier League.

More than that, Leeds want to maintain the image of a club looking upwards. As such, tentative interest from Paris Saint-Germain in goalkeeper Meslier was rebuffed, although their main target was always Gianluigi Donnarumma from AC Milan. Kalvin Phillips, starring at Euro 2020 for England, will not be sold this summer and although his contract still has three years to run, the club are conscious that the midfielder may merit a pay rise to reflect his growing stature on the international stage. Midfielder Stuart Dallas has already signed a new three-year contract and discussions are progressing well with Patrick Bamford over a renewal.

In this summer’s market, Leeds’ spending will be more reserved but sporting director Victor Orta has now closed two deals. First, Leeds sealed the permanent signing of Jack Harrison from Manchester City after three hugely successful seasons on loan at Elland Road and now he has secured the services of Junior Firpo, a 24-year-old left-back from Barcelona. Firpo, a former Spanish Under-21 international born in the Dominican Republic, has signed on a four-year deal for €15 million (around £12.8 million), with Barcelona receiving 20 per cent of any future sale.

It is not expected to be the end of the business, as Leeds are also searching for a young central midfield player with the potential to develop under the guidance of Marcelo Bielsa. As things stand, it is unlikely to be the Cagliari midfielder Nahitan Nandez, who has represented Uruguay at the Copa America.

For Leeds supporters, Firpo should be considered another statement signing. Consider, for example, that Firpo has received recent interest from AC Milan and Inter Milan, who would have both offered the left-back Champions League football. Napoli were also keen, while West Ham and Southampton enquired in the January window. Brighton looked closely at the defender as far back as last summer. In January, Southampton believed they would sign Firpo on a loan deal, only to be left with the impression that the deal fell by the wayside due to Barcelona’s tumultuous presidential elections and the fallout that ensued. Sources close to the player, however, suggest that Southampton were never under major consideration by the player and talks did not become sufficiently advanced for Firpo to meet Ralph Hassenhutl.

Yet by the end of the campaign, it became absolutely clear that Firpo’s days were numbered in Catalonia. Firpo started only three La Liga games under Ronald Koeman last season and decided several months before the end of the campaign that a summer transfer would be required to revitalise his career.

As the season drew to a close, Milan demonstrated interest and held discussions over a move. Leeds, through Orta and the club’s European head of recruitment Gaby Ruiz, also began their groundwork. Firpo is represented by Sufi Abdelkader, the father of Real Madrid forward Brahim Diaz, and therefore knew the landscape at Milan particularly well. Diaz, after all, had spent last season on loan at the Italian club. Firpo was charmed by the tradition of Milan, but he was also conscious of the competition for places at left-back, where Theo Hernandez has excelled. Firpo’s lack of football during the past two seasons — starting only 14 league matches for Barcelona following a £27.5 million transfer from Real Betis — made the defender hesitant about another move to a club with limited opportunities.

Around a fortnight ago, Leeds accelerated their approach. They had previously monitored the 23-year-old Romain Perraud of Brest, who has now signed for Southampton. Yet while Leeds had compiled a dossier of information on Perraud, they did not submit an offer for the defender. Leeds instead came to believe that a move for Firpo could be achieved at a realistic price.

Orta organised a lunch in Barcelona with Firpo and his agent. Ruiz was also in attendance. Orta, as ever, came armed with a presentation that demonstrated the club’s ambitions to restore European football to Elland Road. Orta also set out how Firpo could help Leeds and how head coach Marcelo Bielsa could improve him.

The player has long held an ambition to experience the Premier League. He speaks English capably and friends say that he, like many observers, has enjoyed watching Bielsa’s brand of football at Leeds. While other clubs sought to hold conversations with the player over Zoom, Firpo appreciated the fact that Orta personally travelled to Barcelona and sacrificed five days of isolation, in accordance with the COVID-19 guidelines, to set out Leeds’ vision face-to-face. Leeds went into the meeting hopeful and left lunch that day believing they were favourites.

The crucial point, however, is that Leeds need a reliable left-back, particularly after Ezgjan Alioski’s contract expired. The Athletic understands that he was offered generous terms to renew but Leeds announced yesterday he has left the club.

Firpo will be the first choice and, most importantly, will feel valued again. Bielsa has left supporters a little uncertain as they await an announcement over a contract renewal, but it is fair to say that Firpo was left with the impression he will be coached by the Argentinian next season. After visiting Elland Road and Thorp Arch on Monday, Firpo was due to begin training with his new teammates today.

On the field, Leeds supporters can expect to see a full-back who is comfortable on the ball and adventurous in his play, playing on the overlap and underlap, while seeking to break into the opposition penalty area at speed. He is comfortable as both a traditional left-back or a left wing-back, while he also came on as a substitute in a 1-1 draw against PSG in the Champions League to play well against Kylian Mbappe as a centre-back. His versatility will be of value to Leeds in games and during training sessions, as Bielsa routinely alters systems at different moments in matches, sometimes expecting his full-backs to provide width and other times requiring them to step into a more central position either in defence or midfield.

His lack of game time at Barcelona last season — only 289 league minutes — renders it difficult to make firm conclusions about his past season. As such, a clearer picture is provided by his profile from the 2019-20 season. He played under Ernesto Valverde until January 2020 before being reunited with former Real Betis manager Quique Setien until the end of the season, when he played a little more but was still restricted to just 17 league appearances for Barcelona (predominantly in a 4-3-3 formation).

To look at his stylistic profile in that position, we can turn to smarterscout. This tool uses advanced metrics to give players a rating from zero to 99 based on how often they perform a specific action compared to others playing in their position, or how effective they are at it.

His style demonstrates a player suited to Barcelona or Leeds in possession. He is heavily involved in short, sharp passes (as underlined by his link-up play volume 99 out of 99) and he helps ensure that a team keeps possession (as shown by a ball retention ability 91 out of 99). Firpo also regularly made intelligent runs off the ball, retaining width before arriving in the box and getting to the byline to often pull the ball back for an onrushing forward — showcased by his high volume of receptions in the box (95 out of 99) per total touches.

His defensive metrics show a high volume of defensive actions such as blocks, tackles or clearances, shown on the pizza chart by a score of 96 out of 99 for disrupting opposition moves, although fans may need to be a little patient as Firpo’s record in duels is a little less encouraging when it comes to regaining the ball through interceptions and aerial challenges.

All in all, however, there is plenty for Leeds supporters to embrace. Barcelona are in a financial quagmire and are desperately seeking to shift players from their wage bill, partially to renew Lionel Messi’s contract but also to fund a summer of investment in players such as Memphis Depay and Sergio Aguero. Consequently, the fee for Firpo can be seen as a bit of a bargain.

Barcelona’s financial trouble has left them in a particularly unedifying place in recent days. Experienced players such as Miralem Pjanic and Samuel Umtiti have seen the club filter the news that Barcelona would like to rescind their contracts. The catch, however, is that Pjanic has three years remaining on his deal and Umtiti has two left on his. As such, they would expect some compensation, rather than the club suggesting they should be cut free of charge.

Umtiti, in particular, is not best pleased about the way the club have framed the situation, as the suggestion is he should agree to rescind his contract to help Messi stay, which is perceived as pitting players against one another in front of the fanbase. Barcelona have communicated to Umtiti they would like him to leave but sources close to the player insist he was not directly told they would like his contract to be rescinded without negotiation or compensation.

Amid Barcelona’s strife, Leeds have benefited and Firpo’s career now gains a new lease of life. He was a player for whom former Barca boss Valverde personally advocated, although The Athletic has previously reported that several scouts in Catalonia felt that Ferland Mendy, who instead joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2019, would be the smarter signing. At Barcelona, Firpo toiled. On his full debut, he committed an error that led to a goal and was substituted at half-time in a 2-0 defeat at Granada. At the end of his first season, reports in Spain suggested that Firpo would be offered to Inter Milan as Barcelona sought to strike a deal for Lautaro Martinez.

Firpo, however, is a man accustomed to altering the narrative. At the age of six, his parents moved from Santa Domingo in the Dominican Republic to Malaga on the Costa del Sol. Until only recently, both his mother and father were reported to have worked as waiters at a hotel in Benalmadena. Growing up in the Dominican Republic, he initially played baseball and basketball. He was only introduced to football in Spain as his parents wanted him to make friends.

Firpo said: “Honestly, I didn’t like football. I was ending training every day and going home crying, I was saying that I wanted to quit football as I didn’t know what it was about and didn’t like it.”

He soon changed his tune, playing in local teams. He was first scouted by Malaga as a nine-year-old, but his father declined the invitation as he felt his son was too young to be involved in the pressures of academy football. Through his teenage years, he continued to develop, playing as a striker, winger or full-back, but the offers slowed down. Firpo said: “I maintained the dream of being professional but aged 18, when I saw other young players making their debuts on television, I lost hope a little. I even told my girlfriend that if that year I did not sign for a club, I was going to stop altogether. I had it all decided, but in the final match of the youth age group against Betis, I impressed and they signed me.”

From there, Betis manager Setien took a shine. He took Firpo, then 20, on pre-season in 2017 and the club quickly identified his potential, renewing his contract until 2023 and inserting a €50 million release clause that would prove important in striking a good deal when Barcelona came knocking. In November 2018, he impressed Barcelona at the Camp Nou as Betis won a 4-3 thriller, scoring the opening goal. Luis Fernandez, the former Betis winger said: “He has enormous potential. He had a great game. I believe Setien’s system helps him because full-backs almost play as wingers. He occupies space well and always arrives at the second line. It is no surprise he gets goals.”

At Barcelona, it was understandably hard going as back-up to Jordi Alba. He did impress his team-mates with his physical attributes, recording the highest marks in fitness tests, which bodes well for Bielsa’s murderball training sessions.

Now joining up with Bielsa, Leeds may prove to be the perfect finishing school.