Leeds United man Junior Firpo has teased his next move with a nod to a former Whites team-mate just four days prior to the end of his Elland Road contract.
On June 30 Firpo, alongside Sam Byram, will become a free agent. The pair of full-backs are out of contract and can join new clubs for nothing this summer. Firpo has been widely expected to return to the club where he made his senior breakthrough - LaLiga side Real Betis. Leeds themselves are anticipating that the left-back will go back to Spain, having rejected the chance to stay at Elland Road. The wages offered by Leeds are thought to have reflected a change in squad status and sat below the level of salary Firpo enjoyed when he moved to Leeds from Barcelona.
Firpo, who missed Dominican Republic’s Gold Cup campaign through a minor injury, has now teased his Betis return in an Instagram post. The 28-year-old published a photo of himself on a football pitch, wearing an Espanyol shirt bearing the name of ex-Leeds team-mate Marc Roca. Roca moved to Betis himself from Elland Road last summer in a permanent deal and played 17 times in an injury-hit season. Another former Whites man Diego Llorente is also at Villamarin Stadium and Firpo revealed to the YEP towards the end of last season that he was still in a WhatsApp group with his Spanish former Leeds peers, along with Colombian Luis Sinisterra. Firpo’s post also included a green heart and an egg timer.
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Junior Firpo Instagram
In both of Firpo’s exclusive interviews with the YEP he referenced his love of Real Betis, whose games he continued to watch while at Leeds, and the adoration the fans had for him there when he broke through as a promising youngster before moving to Barcelona.
Leeds’ search for a new left-back meanwhile has identified Gabrial Gudmundsson as one of their targets. The Swedish international has a year remaining on his contract at Ligue 1 side Lille and having previously made clear he was expecting to leave, he has now openly addressed speculation surrounding a possible move to Leeds. In an interview with Swedish outlet Hallandsposten he talked about his ambition to play in the Premier League, discussed Leeds United and denied bizarre reports that he had been spotted at Thorp Arch training ground.
“I can only say that [Leeds] is a good team that plays in the Premier League, a league and a country where I also have an ambition to one day play considering that I grew up watching that league,” he said. “It’s a league that I appreciate very much.”
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