"I’m fully expecting" - Leeds United: Junior Firpo exit prediction issued | OneFootball

Our Whites fan pundit thinks that Firpo is set to leave the club when his contract expires

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Football League World's Leeds United fan pundit has admitted that the club seems consigned to losing Junior Firpo when his contract runs out at the end of this season, amid rumours that the left-back is eyeing a return to his former club Real Betis.

Firpo is now into his fourth season as a Whites player, after he signed from Barcelona in 2021 while the club was still in the Premier League, but his time at Elland Road looks to be coming to an end this term.

The Dominican international has re-established himself as Daniel Farke's first-choice left-back over the last 12 months, but the club are yet to offer him a new contract, with his current one set to expire this summer, despite new reports suggesting that he would be open to signing an extension at the club.

TEAMtalk also claim that Firpo’s representatives have made contact with Real Betis, and they are ‘laying the groundwork’ for a potential return to the club where the full-back made his name before leaving for Barcelona.

Leeds United fan pundit offers honest Junior Firpo contract verdict

Firpo has suffered from injury issues this season, and despite starting the season as first-choice left-back with 15 appearances before December, he has been sidelined for the last month with a hamstring problem that is set to continue to rule him out for another few weeks.

Leeds have continued to play well and not lost a game in his absence, which may well have forced their hand in terms of a decision on his contract situation, particularly given that the 28-year-old was inconsistent when the club was in the top-flight, and boss Farke could be building a team for the Premier League in the summer if all goes to plan over the next few months.

Our Whites fan pundit, Kris Smith, has admitted that Firpo looks set to leave Leeds at the end of the season, but hopes to see him go out on a high with a key role in promotion, when we asked him if he would be fine with the club losing him for nothing this summer.

“I’m fully expecting, at this point, the club to lose Junior Firpo for nothing when the season comes to a close," Kris told FLW.

“If he had signed a new contract by now I think we would have known about it, given that Willy Gnonto signed one as soon as the summer window ended.

“Leeds will know about the pre-contract discussions that Firpo is able to have now that it is January, and if they wanted him to stay, they would have already nipped that in the bud with a new contract.

“He’s been a divisive figure for a lot of his time at Elland Road, and obviously that comes from how he struggled in the Premier League, but in 2024, he was arguably one of our most important players.

“He finally shook off all those injury issues, and was just a consistent attacking outlet for us.

“He didn’t look that bad defensively either, obviously the Championship being what it is means that he is going to look better in that aspect.

“Having said that, we all know of his lack of defensive qualities that would get exposed in the Premier League, if we were to get promoted, and it does make sense to me that we would let him head back to Real Betis.

“For Firpo, the perfect end to his Leeds career would be getting back to fitness in the coming weeks, and driving us towards the league title.

“He’d be able to leave the club on a high and go back to La Liga knowing that he did everything to get Leeds back to the Premier League, rather than signing a new deal and being exposed in the top-flight like he was when we got relegated.”

Junior Firpo has given his own thoughts on the contract situation

As of now, Firpo is free to speak to overseas clubs and come to a pre-contract agreement, so the longer his contract situation at Leeds is unresolved, the more likely he is to depart the club for good at the end of the campaign.

He previously addressed the matter in an interview with the Yorkshire Evening Post in November, but remained relatively coy over what the future holds for him with a bigger focus placed on the club's on-pitch fortunes.

"Obviously, I could have done the same [as others who left], I could have gone away. I have my options, I think everyone knows, it's not a thing that I can hide," he said.

"I had my options and I could go away, but as you say, my family is settled here. We are doing really good at the moment, but we don't know what the future will say for me.

"I don't know even what Leeds want to do with me. I don't know yet. We haven't had this conversation yet. The manager hasn't had this conversation yet with me.

"I think we are just focusing at the moment in playing every game, winning every game, win as many games as possible, and get us promoted. This is the target. And if I have to leave after the season, at least Leeds are going to be in the Premier League."

It remains to be seen what will happen regarding Firpo's short-term future at Elland Road, but it certainly feels like he is set to move on soon, given that he has not yet been offered a new deal.

The 28-year-old's full focus right now will likely be on returning to fitness and helping the Whites to return to the Premier League in May, which would surely signal an ideal end to his career at the club and the right time to leave and return to Spain.