Leeds United could ‘look to sign somebody else’ to provide cover and competition for defender Junior Firpo in the summer transfer window, according to journalist Dean Jones.

The 25-year-old only arrived on English shores in July via a £12.8 million deal from Barcelona but has struggled to find his best form in what’s been a stop-start season for him.

What is the latest news involving Firpo?

Firpo was one of a number of fringe stars allowed to depart Camp Nou ahead of the current campaign after being awarded just 864 minutes of action across all competitions in 2020/21.

Nevertheless, he was brought to Leeds by former manager Marcelo Bielsa with the intention of becoming the first-choice left-back following the exit of Ezgjan Alioski, who failed to agree a new contract at the club.

And Firpo made a decent start to life at Elland Road, featuring in six of the Whites’ opening seven Premier League games of the campaign.

However, since then, several fitness issues have prevented the attack-minded full-back from starting over five consecutive league outings, and he’s currently sidelined with a knee complaint.

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Speaking in a recent Q&A for The Athletic Leeds reporter Phil Hay admitted that fans of the west Yorkshire outfit shouldn’t expect to see Firpo back in action for a while.

“There’s no Junior Firpo today. He’s going to be out for a little while with this knee injury by the sounds of things,” he said.

What has Jones said about Firpo?

Firpo’s latest setback came after he had started both of Jesse Marsch’s opening games at the helm and adds even more frustration to an underwhelming 2021/22 for the player.

And Jones believes the Leeds hierarchy may have already grown frustrated with the summer acquisition and could look for someone to ‘compete with him’ when the market reopens.

He told GiveMeSport: “You would imagine they might even look to sign somebody else to compete with him for next season.”

How has Firpo been playing?

In his 19 Premier League outings this term, Firpo has largely struggled to showcase his true potential as he continues to adapt to his new surroundings.

As per WhoScored, his tallies of 0.9 interceptions, 1.3 clearances and 0.2 blocks per league game sees him rank outside the top three when compared to his teammates for each metric.

It remains to be seen if Leeds grant Firpo enough time to turn things around in west Yorkshire, but it seems as though he could have a battle on to retain his place next season.