Latest news with #JuniorFirpo
Yahoo
23-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Chelsea stalwart could finally leave this summer with huge wages still an issue
With the Club World Cup now over, we're back in a similar situation to the one we were in a year ago at Chelsea – business has been done on bringing players in, now the hard work begins on shifting those we don't need. Last summer there was a full on bomb squad of first team players kept separate from the main group to encourage them to find a move. That won't be quite as necessary this year as those first team players who were at the CWC will be on holiday anyway. But those players who arrive at Cobham in the next couple of weeks know they're in the out tray. Newly promoted team target Chilwell Ben Chilwell applauds the fans. (Photo by) One player who the club would love to move on is Ben Chilwell. The left back spent the second half of last season on loan after a summer move couldn't be found, and so far has limited interest in his services pretty limited this summer too. We do finally have a new rumour to report on though – CaughtOffside claim that newly promoted Leeds are interested in filling the gap on their left created by the departure of Junior Firpo with the England international. England star's wages create issues once again As ever with Chilwell, his large wages are what create an issue, especially for a newly promoted team. But he will hope that by lowering his demands, Chelsea and Leeds can figure out how to make that work between them. Chelsea would likely accept a very small transfer fee just to get the former Leicester man off their books at this point. After missing half of last season and missing so many games in his career with injuries, he will surely be desperate to get back to action soon. It's not an easy deal to get done, but all 3 parties should be keen to do it.
New York Times
17-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Junior Firpo rejoins Betis after Leeds exit
Junior Firpo has rejoined Real Betis after leaving Leeds United as a free agent. The 28-year-old previously spent five years at the Spanish club, progressing through their youth system and making 43 first-team appearances prior to joining Barcelona in 2019. Firpo joined Leeds from Barcelona in 2021 in a €15million ($17m) deal and signed a four-year contract which expired this summer, despite attempts from the Premier League club to renew his stay following their promotion to the top flight. The left-back helped Leeds to securing Premier League safety in his debut season, but could not prevent his side from suffering relegation in the following campaign. ⏺️🔼⏹️ ¿𝐓𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐣𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐳? — Real Betis Balompié 🌴💚 (@RealBetis) July 17, 2025 A hamstring injury sidelined Firpo for six weeks spanning December and January, but the Dominican Republic international was otherwise a regular feature in Daniel Farke's side that earned automatic promotion by winning the Championship in 2024-25. The Dominican Republic international scored four goals and providing 10 assists in 32 Championship appearances last season, and played 119 times games for Leeds across four campaigns. Prior to his move to Elland Road, Firpo had played 41 matches across two seasons at Barcelona, whom he joined from Betis in 2019. ()
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Gudmundsson 'would be a great wing-back'
Swedish journalist Olof Lundh says new Leeds United full-back Gabriel Gudmundsson will add an extra dimension to their attack. The Sweden international should slot into the left wing-back role previously held by Junior Firpo after making the £10m switch from Lille and signing a four-year deal at Elland Road. Advertisement "He is more of a Junior Firpo type of player," Lundh told BBC Radio Leeds' Don't Go To Bed Just Yet podcast. "But I don't know if Daniel Farke will go with three central defenders. [If so], then Gabriel Gudmundsson would be a great wing-back. As a full-back, he will have challenges defensively. But he is great offensively. "In the national team, they've used him as one of three central defenders, as a left central defender. "His skills are mostly in the offensive part of the game, but he has developed a lot in the French league, which is quite a tough, physical league. He has grown a lot, mentally and become tougher. He has taken on challenges and done really well." Listen on BBC Sounds
BBC News
10-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Gudmundsson 'would be a great wing-back'
Swedish journalist Olof Lundh says new Leeds United full-back Gabriel Gudmundsson will add an extra dimension to their Sweden international should slot into the left wing-back role previously held by Junior Firpo after making the £10m switch from Lille and signing a four-year deal at Elland Road. "He is more of a Junior Firpo type of player," Lundh told BBC Radio Leeds' Don't Go To Bed Just Yet podcast. "But I don't know if Daniel Farke will go with three central defenders. [If so], then Gabriel Gudmundsson would be a great wing-back. As a full-back, he will have challenges defensively. But he is great offensively. "In the national team, they've used him as one of three central defenders, as a left central defender."His skills are mostly in the offensive part of the game, but he has developed a lot in the French league, which is quite a tough, physical league. He has grown a lot, mentally and become tougher. He has taken on challenges and done really well."Listen on BBC Sounds
New York Times
09-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
What will Gabriel Gudmundsson bring to Leeds? And is he the right left-back for Daniel Farke?
Leeds United have their fourth signing of the summer in the building. Gabriel Gudmundsson was quickly ushered into life at Thorp Arch with a staple of pre-season training on Tuesday: the bleep test. It was probably a good test of the new £10million ($13.6m) signing's ability to get up and down the pitch. The 26-year-old will be doing plenty of that as he appears to be the club's first-choice left-back for next season. Advertisement Junior Firpo left the club when his contract expired on June 30, while Sam Byram's new one-year deal was announced on Tuesday evening. Byram was primarily used in reserve last season in the Championship. It remains to be seen if Leeds go after another left-back option, but with goalkeepers, central midfielders, attacking midfielders, wingers and strikers still on their shortlist, their budget will only stretch so far. What have Leeds bought in Gudmundsson, then? The Athletic takes a look through his profile, statistics and clips to build a picture of the man Daniel Farke and the recruitment team wanted. The obvious unknown with Gudmundsson is how he will cope in the Premier League. There is a lot to like about him, but until we head towards the back end of 2025, the jury will be out on his ability at this level. However, his prime years are still ahead of him. He has 15 Sweden caps, 103 Ligue 1 appearances and a handful of Champions League outings to his name — proven experience in one of Europe's top-five leagues as well as the continent's elite club competition. His injury record is superb, too. According to Transfermarkt, Gudmundsson has not had any prolonged absences through injury since February 2023. Player availability has to be one of the main priorities for United's new signings. There's no use in investing in someone who cannot play. The biggest question mark that arises from Gudmundsson's stats is how impressive his attacking data can be without delivering goals and assists. When compared with other left-backs across the 'big five' leagues last season, Gudmundsson impressed when it came to successful take-ons (going past defenders), progressive passes received (taking in those longer passes down the left flank) and touches in the opposition area. However, in all competitions last term, the left-back delivered just two goals and one assist from 45 games. Last season, Leeds relied on Firpo as an attacking force — he provided four goals and 10 assists in the Championship. Farke's tactics served to get the best out of an ostensibly defensive player in the final third. Advertisement So, Gudmundsson's raw numbers do not match up — but it might not be that simple. Gudmundsson has been a useful asset for Lille, the man who develops the play before feeding the ultimate assister of his team's goal. From his playstyle wheel below, you can see that dribbling upfield is a big part of Gudmundsson's game. He ranks in the 89th percentile of all left-backs for 'carry progression' across the big five leagues (so only 11 per cent of left-backs moved the ball up the pitch more frequently). This shows how Gudmundsson has dragged Lille upfield, but his far smaller sections for 'creative threat' (27) and 'cross volume' (32) show he is not necessarily at the sharp end of the team's chance creation. He has that priceless ability to get up and down the field, even if he isn't making the final pass. During a clash with Rennes last season, there was an especially impressive move from Gudmundsson that underlined his ball-carrying ability and a knack of going past defenders. He receives the initial pass in a wide-left position on the halfway line. He drives past Albert Gronbaek, begins cutting inside, squeezes between the pressure of Azor Matusiwa and Lorenz Assignon, around Hans Hateboer's outstretched leg and by Glen Kamara before he meets a wall on the edge of the Rennes box. That's five players he evaded, from the halfway line to the box. A score of 78 for 'pass progression' in his wheel higlights Gudmundsson's inclination to move the ball forward fairly frequently, when compared with his peers. However, 68 for 'link-up play' shows he prefers playing shorter passes, perhaps playing one-twos with team-mates in those tight pockets of the final third. Lille visited Liverpool for a Champions League tie in January. Above, you can see Gudmundsson advancing to give Remy Cabella a short option on the left side. They exchange passes before Gudmundsson shows a turn of speed to cut inside and then out again to collect Cabella's return pass. The left-back has gone around Harvey Elliott and then outmuscled Conor Bradley to retain possession before a low cutback into the box. Advertisement Team-mate Hakon Haraldsson is found and his shot cannons off Kostas Tsimikas before Jonathan David then puts away what was Lille's equaliser on the night. A 'goal threat' of 73 in the playstyle wheel above is not a good score among other full-backs. The hard numbers would suggest Gudmundsson was more likely to score than assist for Lille. One of last season's two goals came in a league game against Nantes. Above, you can see a raking pass from Aissa Mandi (one of those progressive efforts Gudmundsson consistently made himself available for) to the Swede. Gudmundsson gathers, comes inside and then lays off one of the shorter, safer passes he has preferred for ball retention. Benjamin Andre then loops a longer ball out to Cabella on the right while Gudmundsson wanders into the box. Cabella's superb effort crashes off the crossbar, but Gudmundsson attacks the back post for a calm finish on the follow-up. Defensively, Gudmundsson ranked in the 85th percentile for front-foot defending, which shows he liked to stay touch tight and track runners last season. His 'one-v-one defending' mark of 70 shows he was pretty impressive in trying to stop dribblers attacking down the wings, too. His low 'aerial volume' number (nine), unlike fellow new faces Jaka Bijol and Sebastiaan Bornauw, shows Gudmundsson rarely competed for headers last season. For his age, experience (with the admission of none in the Premier League) and ability to get up and down the left flank, a fee of £10million has the potential to be superb business for Leeds. However, all opinions will have to be held until autumn turns into winter. The attacking output at the sharp end has been lacking from Gudmundsson, but there is potential there for Farke to work with. The left-back seems to have the engine and technical ability to be an outlet and carrier for the team. Advertisement Firpo in the Championship was verging on cheat-code status. It is asking a lot for Gudmundsson to replicate his attacking output in the top flight. Farke may be comfortable with the limited assists his new signing has previously produced. We are yet to see exactly what he wants from his full-backs in the brave new world ahead.
