Routes to starts may have taken a hit for Junior Firpo in Jesse Marsch’s new system and Leeds United’s left-back has a greater fight on his hands to deliver on that €15m investment. Under Marcelo Bielsa, a 4-1-4-1 system opened up three slots for the small midfield corps at Elland Road, but under his American successor, a 4-2-3-1 has slimmed the slots to two.
Crucially for Firpo, minding his own business at full-back, there is a knock-on effect. In a fully fit and match sharp squad, Kalvin Phillips immediately takes away one of those midfield slots in the double-pivot.
Adam Forshaw, Robin Koch, Lewis Bate, Mateusz Klich and Jamie Shackleton are all competing to partner Phillips in the centre. Even allowing for Klich as an option in the advanced central role behind the striker, that’s something of a bottleneck.
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Then we come to Stuart Dallas who, across the past two or three seasons has arguably played his best football as a central midfielder for Leeds. He’s competing with that long list too, but while he’s waiting for a shot at the centre he’s sat at left-back.
That’s where Firpo comes in. It has been a challenging first season in West Yorkshire for the former Barcelona man, who has had several injuries and Covid to combat along with the cultural changes of his move.
As it stands, Dallas would have to be given the edge over Firpo as the best left-back in the squad and while the Northern Ireland international’s route to the centre is congested, it’s Firpo who must now turn heads in training and the cameos he gets from the bench.
Firpo has been missing in recent matches after being stretchered off in the dismal loss to Aston Villa with a knee ligament injury more than five weeks ago. Last week, Marsch said Firpo was set to return to training before the weekend arrived. Assuming his preparations are not hindered, Firpo should be available for selection down at Crystal Palace on Monday.
