Whites consider replacement for £15m man as Daniel Farke sends 49ers transfer message

Former Leeds United defender Diego Llorente has spoken about the possibility of ex-teammate Junior Firpo joining him at Real Betis – as the Championship side eye a potential replacement for the left-back.

While this summer has not been as tumultuous for Leeds fans as last year’s one, where they were relegated from the Premier League and many players either left on loan or permanently, there is a great deal of uncertainty heading into the new season.

The Whites were rocked by the £40m departure of academy jewel Archie Gray to Tottenham and there is a distinct possibility 2023/24 player of the season Crysencio Summerville and fellow winger Wilfried Gnonto could follow him out the door as the club tries to pick up the pieces from their Championship play-off final loss to Southampton.

Less crucially, this window has also seen the permanent exits of midfielder Marc Roca to Real Betis for a fee of just under £4m, £6m less than the fee they forked out for him in 2022, and centre-back Llorente has joined him at the Spanish side for £2.5m – nearly four years on from signing for £18m.

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And Betis could complete a rare trio of Leeds signings if they land the services of Dominican Republic star Firpo, who is now in the last year of his contract at Elland Road and made a name for himself at the Spanish outfit.

‘We know what Junior is capable of’

When ABC Seville asked Llorente about the possibility of Betis signing Firpo, he said: “I was sad that they (Leeds) didn’t get promoted because they were very close to returning to the Premier League.

“Beyond that, I can only have good things to say about him. We all know him and we know what Junior is capable of. Going away has made him improve, it makes you stronger.”

Firpo is understood to be one of Leeds’ top earners, which is understandable as he joined from Barcelona in 2022 for £15m when the Whites were still in the Premier League.

Getting him off the books and trying to recoup as much of that money as possible could be a shrewd move, and reports suggest Leeds are keeping their options open.

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Leeds ‘eye’ left-back reinforcements

According to Football InsiderFarke’s men are eyeing a potential deal for PEC Zwolle defender Anselmo Garcia MacNulty.

The 21-year-old, who has a Spanish father and an Irish mother, can play as a centre-back and a left-back and scored two goals and bagged as many assists in 32 appearances for the Eredivisie outfit.

If Firpo were to leave, that would put Leeds in a difficult position when it comes to full-backs, though. Gray played much of last season at right-back but now he is at Spurs, Connor Roberts joined on loan for the second half of the campaign from Burnley but he is now back with the Clarets, and backup option Jamie Shackleton has signed for Sheffield United .

That leaves just Firpo and Sam Byram as their full-back options, less than four weeks out from the new season. Regardless of that, it seems Farke is in no rush to let the 27-year-old Firpo leave – in an apparent message to owners 49ers Enterprises.

He said last week: “I never made a secret out of it that I think that Junior Firpo at this level is an outstanding full-back, with his experience, with his technical ability, with his strength going forward.

“He is able to assist, he is able to score. He showed this again in this little bit more advanced role which I think also suits him a little bit. He is one of the more experienced lads in my group and for that he is also a key player in my thoughts of going forward. Of course he will be important.”

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Incidentally, Llorente has reflected on his time at Leeds. The 30-year-old made 59 appearances for the Whites, scoring four goals along the way, but for much of the past two years he has been on loan at Roma.

Despite that, he appears to have nothing but fondness for Leeds.

He added: “The experience in the Premier League clearly enriches you. It makes you improve day by day. It is another type of training. Physically you have to deal with stronger and faster players but you adapt. In all matches, you must have a very high level of alertness.

“You learn a lot from these leagues, as has also happened to me in Italy. I have evolved. Now I have to adapt to the Spanish league again because I have been away for four years, but with experience I feel that I have improved.”