Junior Firpo has struggled in his first season at Barcelona
According to a report from Spanish publication Sport (h/t The Sun), Barcelona are prepared to sell defender Junior Firpo in the summer as they look to generate funds to sign top transfer target Lautaro Martinez from Inter Milan. The Catalans are demanding £18m for the left-back.
Junior Firpo spent his youth career at Atletico Benamiel, CD Tiro Pichon and CD Puerto Malagueno, before joining the Real Betis U-19 setup in 2014. A year later, he was promoted to the La Liga side’s B team, with whom he spent close to three years, before breaking into the first-team in February 2018.
Firpo grew from strength to strength from thereon, becoming the first-choice left-back at Real Betis. In his first full season with the senior team in 2018/19, the 23-year-old impressed heavily, scoring 3 goals and setting up 5 more in 29 matches in all competitions.
Following his breakthrough campaign, Barcelona snapped him up last summer in a deal worth £16.2m. However, things haven’t gone according to plan for the Spaniard at Camp Nou. He has had to play second-fiddle to Jordi Alba for most of the campaign, which has restricted him to just 12 La Liga appearances.
With Barcelona now looking to offload the 23-year-old, Premier League heavyweights Liverpool should take note of the situation and make a move for him this summer.
Liverpool have had a high-flying campaign. Prior to football getting suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Reds were at the top of the table and needing just two wins for their first-ever Premier League crown.
Jurgen Klopp has a squad filled with quality players but for him and Liverpool to sustain their dominance in the coming years, they should invest further in the next transfer window. One such position where the Reds should look to strengthen is the left-back slot.
Having allowed Alberto Moreno to leave last summer on a free transfer, Liverpool have been left with just one recognized left-back in Andrew Robertson. The Scotsman has been excellent once again this season, but the lack of a backup means Klopp hasn’t been able to rotate and give the former Hull City man enough rest.
Veteran James Milner has filled in at left-back to decent success on occasions. But at 34 years of age, the Englishman is in the twilight of his career and cannot be considered a long-term solution by any means. Hence, Liverpool should look to strengthen at left-back in the coming summer.
This is where Junior Firpo enters the picture. The 23-year-old hasn’t had the best of seasons at Barcelona, producing a return of just one goal and one assist in 17 appearances across all competitions.
But this can be accounted to the fact that he hasn’t been able to get a regular run in the first-team with Jordi Alba the preferred option at Barca. Indeed, when Firpo was a constant fixture in the line-up at Real Betis last season, the 23-year-old showed his abundant quality.
Any champion team needs a well-rounded squad to keep the players in the starting XI on their toes to keep performing at their best or risk getting replaced. And adding Firpo to the ranks would do just that at Liverpool. His addition will not only spur Robertson to up his game, but also provide Klopp with a quality option to rotate and keep his squad fresh.
Firpo is set to be sold by Barcelona in the summer (h/t The Sun). At just £18m, given his age and potential, the Spaniard represents a bargain. Hence, Liverpool should pounce on the opportunity to snap him up and add some much-needed depth in the left-back department for the coming seasons.
