Leeds United defender Junior Firpo is arguably enjoying his best spell at the club under Daniel Farke.
The journey at Elland Road has not been smooth for the 27-year-old who joined in the summer of 2021 from Barcelona, signed by Marcelo Bielsa.
The £13m move seemed to be a disaster as he suffered a series of injuries in recent years as Leeds faced enormous problems with their left-back situation.
Leeds have won eight Championship games on the trot and Firpo has started in every single one of them. He has not only kept himself fit, but he has contributed a lot in recent months as the Whites moved second in the table.
Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Firpo shared how he felt in those times when he was injured and couldn’t contribute at all. He says it’s the “worst thing” that can happen to a player.
“Feeling good, just finished a session, it was pretty tough, just a few days before Leicester, feeling good,” he told the YEP.
“Obviously when you’re coming in, coming out with injuries it’s the worst thing as a footballer, an athlete. You kill your head a little bit. And it’s the worst thing when you’re injured.
“When you’re playing you don’t feel that nervous feeling before the games, you can help at least, you’re in the squad, but when you’re injured you can do nothing, literally nothing.
“It’s the best thing to have a group of people like we have in this team, who help each other, some players who have injury records talking between us, and obviously my friends and family. I think it’s my longest run of games in a Leeds shirt and I’m pretty happy.”
Should Leeds offer Junior Firpo a new deal?
The 27-year-old has a contract at Elland Road until 2025, and the Whites have a dilemma whether to offer him a new deal, irrespective of where they finish at the end of the season.
Firpo has shown his class what we all know he is capable of in the past few months. Probably all he needed was a bit of confidence, and it has coincided with Leeds’ form at the moment.
He has earned the trust of his manager and has become the mainstay at the club. He has looked more solid and assured in defending and has managed four assists as well.
The Whites have faced problems with left-back areas in the past, and they must decide now whether to offer him a new deal.
On the current form, it makes sense to extend his deal at the club. But, Firpo also struggled in the Premier League. If the Whites secure promotion, which is a high possibility, Farke probably should look to sign better quality than Firpo.
At the moment, Leeds should not entertain such thoughts and any discussion on the new deal could wait until the summer.
In other news, Willy Gnonto sends message to Leeds teammate after what he did recently.
