Jesse Marsch has spoken about the criticism of one of his defenders and feels his ability is not in question, as the search for new faces in the January transfer window heats up.
As per LeedsLive, Junior Firpo has received criticism from fans and pundits alike and the Leeds coach has been quick to defend the 26-year-old. Firpo has not been able to put a run of games together in the Premier League and Marsch feels that is purely down to illness or injury and not because of the players ability. The former Barcelona man is the only recognised player in that position at the club, but the fantastic performances of Pascal Struijk filling in at the left side of the defence for the majority of the season has also contributed in Marsch’s decision to not change things.
Firpo was signed from Barcelona in July 2021 as a replacement for Ezgjan Alioski, for a fee believed to be around €15 million plus add-ons, with Barcelona reserving rights to 20% of his future sales, but he has struggled to cement a place in the starting line up, and to date has only played 26 games for the Whites.
Has Firpo been judged unfairly?
Yes, he will improve
No, he's rubbish
Marsch said, “I’ve heard criticisms of Junior from the past, I can only tell you since I’ve been here, he has, in every way, tried to adapt and learn and grow into the player I believe he can be.”
“His technical ability and passing ability is one of the best on our team, his athleticism is definitely on the high end of our team, his intelligence is very high and then his tactical awareness is also very keen. If he can continue to add the right kind of aggressiveness, he can grow into a real defender and be a real two-way player.”
“His technical ability and passing ability is one of the best on our team, his athleticism is definitely on the high end of our team, his intelligence is very high and then his tactical awareness is also very keen." #lufc https://t.co/cHDJTngl56
— Leeds United Live (@liveleedsunited) November 26, 2022
He added, “At left-back, there are not a lot of those types of players out there in the world right now. So, specifically with Junior, I’m trying to develop him into the player I believe he can become and I believe he can be a big player here no doubt.”
“He has everything he needs and his commitment to try to do that is at a really high level, even at a moment when Pascal has been playing so well and it’s not been easy for him to accept being on the bench.”
Marsch knows his side need some new additions in key areas, the most obvious being a striker and a left-back and hopefully those can be brought in as a minimum. I would go further to say a new centre-back and an attacking midfielder would be areas we could also benefit from some new faces. Leeds are always heavily linked with players around transfer windows and some of those rumours have started to gain momentum in recent days. Jesus Vazquez, a left-back from Valencia and Dortmund’s Raphael Guerreiro, midfielder Sasa Lukic from Torino as well as strikers Boulaye Dia and Charles De Ketelaere from Villareal and AC Milan respectively have all been doing the rounds. It is still unclear who, if anyone, is going to be leaving the club in January, so they would also need to be replaced.
A tough month for Marsch and the Leeds hierarchy with some hard decisions to make. Let’s hope they get this window correct and our run in to the end of the season is a lot more comfortable than the last.
Who would you like to see come in? Let us know in the comments.
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