"Leeds owe £180m" - Ex-CEO makes Junior Firpo claim as possible Elland Road exit looms | OneFootball

Wyness believes Leeds must try and make some money from a sale of Junior Firpo whilst they can.

Former football club CEO and pundit Keith Wyness believes Leeds United may need to cash in on Junior Firpo whilst they can, speaking to Football Insider.

Firpo is one of many Leeds players who could be linked with a move away from Elland Road this summer, with the left-back only having one year remaining on his contract.

Having spent £13m to lure the defender to West Yorkshire, the Whites will surely be keen not to lose him for free and that could leave them with a big decision to make this summer.

Tying him down to a new contract is one option, but the player would need to be willing to put pen to paper on an extension for that to happen and following their play-off final defeat against Southampton, it remains to be seen whether he would be happy to do so.

Firpo hasn't always been the most popular figure at Elland Road, but he proved to be a real threat in the final third last season, with his assist for the Whites' fourth goal against Norwich City in the play-off semi-final second leg reinforcing that.

With his attacking contributions and contract situation in mind, he could be the subject of plenty of bids this summer, along with other first-teamers.

Crysencio Summerville, Willy Gnonto and Archie Gray are three other players who could be heavily linked with a move away from West Yorkshire.

Keith Wyness makes Leeds United claim on Junior Firpo

Out of the four players mentioned though, it's Firpo who sees his contract run out first and Wyness believes it may be tricky to tie him down to a new deal.

He told Football Insider: "I believe Leeds owe £180m on past transfers – that’s a big number. Of course, that’s spread over multiple years.

"Firpo is one of those, but he’s out of contract next year. It’s going to be difficult for Leeds to renew that contract while in the Championship. If they don’t, they lose him for free next year.

"Leeds are in a position where Firpo will be a great asset for them to get out of the Championship, but they may need to take some money for him while they still can. They’re stuck in these conundrums with several players, as I understand it.

"Angus Kinnear has a big financial juggling act on his hands. They have the power of a very good ownership group behind them, but they have to use good financial judgement while the big cloud of getting promoted hangs over them.

"It’s going to be up to the top level of directors to decide this."

Junior Firpo's future must be sorted out

Leeds could cash in on the likes of Summerville and Gnonto this summer.

And that could cushion the blow of potentially losing Firpo for free.

However, they need to get the left-back's situation sorted out, because losing him for nothing would be a travesty for a side that spent an eight-figure fee to recruit him.

Selling him may not be a bad option if they can recruit an alternative, with Sam Byram (pictured above) also able to play at left-back.

But considering how much of an attacking threat he can be, keeping Firpo would be ideal for the Whites, who could richly benefit from having the player at their disposal next term.