It looks like Junior Firpo’s time at Leeds has come to an end as he is reported to have signed for Real Betis, but there should be some news about incoming players in the very near future.

Firpo was one of the surprising stars of our promotion campaign with his four goals and ten assists, though it was still a little surprising when the club revealed they were in discussions with the Dominican Republic international about extending the contract that was running out this summer.

The terrace chants in his honour always had a hint of sarcasm about them, and for all his cult hero status we all knew his defending was a little suspect, even at Championship level. In the Premier League we wouldn’t have been able to afford to have him roaming all over the field, but that won’t be a concern now that the 28-year-old is on the verge of joining the Conference League finalists.

Spanish journalist Gonzalo Tortosa took to X to tell us “Confirmed. Junior Firpo has already signed his three-year contract with Real Betis. It will soon be done in person. The Dominican’s wish was to return to what he considered his home.” The Seville club are said to have beaten off competition from AC Milan and Lyon for his signature, and we wish him well for the next phase of his career.

Another defender on his way out is Max Wöber, who only came back to Leeds by default this time last year as he couldn’t get another loan deal anywhere else, and his injury-hit campaign did little to salvage his reputation amongst our fans. He played for Austria last weekend, but then said “Leeds has already made it clear to me that they want to sell me”.

Any fee over £5m would give us a bit of profit towards meeting the profit and sustainability regulations, as that would exceed the amount of his original fee that we still have on the books. And would also send my umlaut into retirement. Ööö. So with these departures leaving a couple of gaps in the squad, what news of any incoming players?

The new regime at Elland Road have been keeping their cards very close to their chest as they go about their business of signing reinforcements for the season ahead, but well-informed journalist Beren Cross felt confident enough to reveal a couple of names yesterday in the Athletic.

He said that Leeds United are optimistic of completing a deal for Udinese’s central defender Jaka Bijol, with the fee likely to be around €15-18million (£12.7-15.2m). Bijol is 26 and has made 90 appearances in Serie A over the past three seasons, as well as having earned 63 caps for the Slovenian national side since 2018.

We’ve also been chasing a couple of midfield players, one being Strasbourg’s 21 year old Habib Diarra, who can also operate as a winger, should we ever run out of those. We have bid £22m for his services, but this might not be enough after his goal and assist for Senegal against England on Tuesday, which might attract interest from elsewhere in the Premier League.

As the current squad is a bit light on players with Premier League experience, Sean Longstaff is also on the club’s shortlist of targets. He has only one year remaining on his contract, and although the 27 year-old has made 171 appearance for Newcastle in the last seven years, only eight of his starts came in the season just finished.

A striker is also on the shopping list this summer, and Fulham’s Rodrigo Muniz is currently the name in the frame. Though it’s been reported that the Cottagers value the 24 year-old Brazilian at £50m, which seems a little bit steep for a player who managed only eight goals in the Premier League last season.

Other positions where will be seeking better options than we currently have will undoubtedly be left back and goalkeeper. There is a lot more wheeling and dealing to be done in the transfer window before the end of August, so watch this space.

Reuters

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