Leeds United’s Junior Firpo has seen his playing time restricted this season as he’s made seven league appearances, which includes three starts.
Pascal Struijk has been preferred ahead of him for the left side of defence. The former picked up an injury in the Whites’ 2-2 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford and that gave the 26-year-old opportunity to come off the bench.
Since then, the former Barcelona man has started for Leeds in their last two matches against the Red Devils and Everton.
AS asked the defender, who has faced Erik ten Hag’s side twice in the last three matches, to preview Barca’s Europa League knockout tie against Manchester United on Thursday.
Junior is of the belief Xavi Hernández’s side will suffer at Old Trafford due to the absence of Gavi and Pedri. He adds that Marcus Rashford, who scored in the first leg at the Camp Nou, is going to be a threat for the visitors tomorrow.
“[I am] more than comfortable, last year I had offers to leave, but in this team, I am finding myself as a player,” he said.
Sport also had a chat with Junior about the tie between the Red Devils and Barca, and he spoke about his time at the Camp Nou and why he decided to leave them for Leeds in 2021.
When asked whether he would have done well under Xavi, Junior explained: “Maybe things would have gone differently, but hey. I ended up badly burned and needed to go. I couldn’t see myself holding on.
“I was very young, I had been in the elite for a season and a half and it is difficult to deal with such strong pressure. At first it costs. Sometimes I think that I wish I was there now with the maturity that I have today.
“That’s why I say that what Pedri, Gavi, Balde are doing has much more value… It’s just that it’s outrageous. It is true that it is another context. It was another Barça and now everything is positive, but even so, everything they do seems incredible to me. They want to win everything and that is essential.”
