It's time for Leeds United to cut their losses with ex-Barcelona player: View | OneFootball

Leeds United may see the upcoming January transfer window as a chance to further strengthen their promotion bid.

The Yorkshire side were fairly busy in the summer transfer window, as they made nine new signings, a high turnover that was needed as they lost several key first-team players.

Daniel Farke has managed to put together a side that is performing very well in the Championship, as they head into the 20th league game of the season sitting third in the table, a few points adrift of the automatic places.

Farke will want the January transfer window to be about which players the club are looking to bring in to strengthen rather than who may leave, but there may be one or two that the club wouldn’t mind seeing the back off.

One of those players could be left-back Junior Firpo, who has had an underwhelming spell at the club and looks to have fallen further down the pecking order under Farke.

Leeds signed Firpo in the summer of 2021 from Spanish giants FC Barcelona, with the deal believed to have cost the club around £13 million.

Despite joining from Barca, Firpo has struggled to be a regular in the Leeds set up, appearing just 54 times for the club, as he’s struggled with injuries and selection.

It has been reported that Firpo is keen to leave Elland Road when the transfer window opens in the new year.

Now, according to journalist Dean Jones, he thinks there is a good chance the player will leave the club in January.

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones said: “There is a pretty high chance that Firpo will leave Leeds in January if they can get a good offer for him. If he has had his head turned by the idea of going back to Betis, I think it's understandable if they look to cash in.

"I thought it was a good transfer when he first joined Leeds, to be honest, but that was more based on what I had previously seen at Betis than Barcelona.

“It hasn't worked out as well as expected. There's no denying that. In Barcelona, I think they're probably looking back at it and realising they made the right decision to let him leave because he can't even live up to expectations at Elland Road, let alone the Nou Camp.”

As mentioned, Firpo’s time at Leeds hasn’t been anywhere near successful or memorable, as he’s spent most of his time at the club on the sidelines.

The most games he played for the club in a season was the 2021/22 season, where he played 27 games in all competitions, with 24 of them coming in the Premier League.

That season, he made 19 starts in the league, during which he didn’t get on the scoresheet, but he did grab two assists. He also claimed 36 progressive carries as well as 111 progressive passes, the most he’s done in a Leeds shirt, as per Fbref.com.

He attempted 952 passes that season, with 768 being successfully completed, leaving him with a pass-competition rate of 80.7%. Firpo wasn’t shy going forward in the 2021/22 season, as he had a shot-creation rate of 2.73 per 90 minutes. While he also did his defensive duties, making 61 tackles, 29 of which were won, and he made 22 blocks and 24 interceptions, as per Fbref.com.

These are the best numbers he has produced in a Leeds shirt, with him last season not featuring as much for the club and therefore not producing the same numbers in attack or defence.

As previously mentioned, the 27-year-old has suffered his fair share of injuries, and he has once again in this campaign, which has meant he’s only appeared in three Championship games so far.

He currently seems way down the pecking order at the club, with Sam Byram being Farke’s number one choice in the left-back role.

The Leeds boss may even look to add another player in that area of the team, and with his contract expiring in 2025, this January could be the right time for the club to move the player on and receive some of the money back that they spent on him in 2021.