Leeds United man confirmed he will miss most of pre-season on same day as reports claim exit is ‘expected’

Not included in that initial wave of arrivals are those on international duty in June, including Junior Firpo, who may not be back for Leeds action any time soon.

Junior Firpo has been confirmed for the Olympics with the Dominican Republic

On the back of an exciting attacking midfielder role for his country last month, Firpo is looking to go further after confirming his international move to the Dominican Republic at the start of 2024.

Confirmation has emerged of the Dominican Republic squad for the Paris 2024 Olympics, which take place between July 24 and August 9 – the first match in Leeds a day after the gold medal final.

Firpo is selected in their squad, ready to pull on the number 10 shirt in his new attacking role:

Intriguingly, this comes on the heels of reports that Leeds have prevented Spain from calling up Mateo Joseph for the same tournament, being able to do so because Olympic matches do not fit into the FIFA calendar, meaning clubs have the right to veto any call. -UPS.

Will Leeds be promoted next season?

Junior Firpo ‘expected’ to be sold by Leeds

It links to reports from the Daily Mail earlier this week claiming Firpo is one of a handful of first-team players at Elland Road “expected” to be sold.

Leeds are set to announce the imminent £40million exit of Archie Gray but Firpo could be one of the next senior players to part ways.

Firpo is in the final 12 months of that deal this summer, three years on from his £13m arrival from Barcelona in 2021.

Selling Firpo would be a major risk for Leeds

With 12 months left on the deal and his stock as high as it has ever been at Elland Road, a sale would not come as much of a shock to Firpo.

However, it’s a massive risk to take someone who was probably in the top three outlets for our attack in 2024, vastly improving the way we attack teams in the Championship.

These two developments could be purely coincidental, but it is a concern that Firpo will be absent from most of our pre-season while he is plugged in.

The 49ers and our recruiting team should be looking for replacements as we speak.