Junior Firpo joined Real Betis’ youth system from Puerto Malagueño in 2014, having previously moved to Andalusia at the age of six. He spent one season in their academy before being promoted to their B team.
Quique Setién was appointed as Betis manager in May 2017 and decided to include the 22-year-old in his pre-season squad. Last August, Junior signed a new four-year contract with the Spanish club.
Primarily a left-back, he can also play as a left winger and centre-back. The youngster made his La Liga debut in February and went on to make 14 starts for Betis in the second half of the last season, out of which six were on the left wing, while he started five matches as left-back and three as a central defender.
His displays for Betis haven’t gone unnoticed. Spanish newspaper AS claims Arsenal are interested in signing Junior this summer.
The versatile player still has three years left on his current deal at Betis and Unai Emery’s side can sign him for €25m, which is his release clause.
Betis are aware of the interest from clubs, including Arsenal, therefore they’ve already started negotiations to renew the contract. A potential second deal in a period of over a year shows the La Liga outfit are aware of the player’s potential.
