BARCELONA, SPAIN - NOVEMBER 29: Junior Firpo of FC Barcelona looks on during the La Liga Santader match between FC Barcelona and C.A. Osasuna at Camp Nou on November 29, 2020 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
According to ESPN, West Ham are weighing up a move for out-of-favour Barcelona left-back Junior Firpo to bolster their backline in the January transfer window.
The Hammers are expected to face competition from Serie A pace-setters AC Milan in their pursuit of the 24-year-old. The Rossoneri are prepared to sign Firpo on loan as cover for first-choice Theo Hernandez but Barcelona would prefer a permanent agreement. (h/t ESPN)
A youth exponent of Real Betis, Junior Firpo made his breakthrough in the La Liga during the second half of the 2017-18 campaign after impressing for the club’s reserve side in the third-tier.
The left-back contributed with 2 goals and 2 assists in 14 appearances to guide Betis to a 6th-place finish, thereby guaranteeing a spot in the Europa League.
Firpo continued to flourish with regular game time at Betis in the following campaign, amassing 3 goals and 4 assists in 24 league appearances. That was enough to warrant a coveted move to Barcelona in the summer of 2019. The flying full-back featured 23 times in all competitions over the course of a decent debut season for the Blaugrana, playing second-fiddle to Jordi Alba.
However, the 24-year-old has found regular minutes hard to come by under Ronald Koeman this season. The former Spain U-21 international has started just once in the La Liga so far, playing a meagre 147 minutes of league football for Barcelona.
It would have made complete sense for West Ham to bring in a new left-back at the start of the season after Aaron Cresswell and Arthur Masuaku both failed to impress last term. However, David Moyes deserves all the credit in the world for managing to get the best out of both players in the ongoing campaign.
Cresswell is a regular in this West Ham side. The former England international has either operated as a left-sided centre-back or as an out-and-out left-back depending on the system used by Moyes. The manager has also afforded enough game time to Masuaku, who has already started 10 league fixtures so far.
Moyes’ tactical flexibility at the back has allowed both players to rediscover their mojo. While Cresswell remains the undisputed first-choice left-back at the London Stadium, Masuaku has also excelled after being shifted to a wing-back role on that side.
With academy graduate Ben Johnson also catching the eye in recent weeks, West Ham need not push too hard to bring in reinforcements in that department.
Junior Firpo is regarded as a quality attacking full-back with good potential but he wouldn’t be a guaranteed starter at West Ham. Cresswell and Masuaku have both done well under Moyes, meaning the Hammers would be better off looking to bolster other areas of their squad.
The recent departure of Sebastian Haller to Ajax means that West Ham should have a new striker high on their agenda this month. A new centre-back should also be under consideration with Fabian Balbuena and Angelo Ogbonna past 30 and Watford loanee Craig Dawson only a temporary fix. Plus, the Hammers also need more quality alternatives in central midfield, where Mark Noble is out of contract next summer.
Suffice to say, Junior Firpo is not someone that West Ham desperately need at the moment. With so many pressing concerns in other areas of the pitch, the Hammers should turn their attention to other targets between now and the end of the month.