‘A long way off’…BBC pundit says he scratches his head watching 27-year-old Leeds star after draw

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Jon Newsome has admitted that he scratches his head watching Junior Firpo, suggesting that the Leeds United left-back was poor in the draw with Rotherham United.

Newsome was speaking on BBC Radio Leeds (broadcast on 24/11; 22:11) after the Whites threw away a golden chance to move within five points of the Championship’s top two.

Junior Firpo came in for his first start of the season after missing much of the campaign due to injury. The decision came with Sam Byram coming off against Plymouth due to an injury of his own.

Jon Newsome not impressed by Junior Firpo after Leeds draw

Unfortunately, it proved to be a frustrating night. And Firpo looked extremely rusty. He certainly seemed to offer little going forward. And he did not exactly look comfortable against a hard-working Rotherham side.

Firpo was always going to need some time to get up to speed. But given what we have seen from the 27-year-old before, it is a concern that he looked to be off the pace on Friday. And Newsome certainly seems to be worried about his display.

“I think the biggest thing is we do all want him to succeed. We do all want him to do well,” he told BBC Radio Leeds.

“But there’s just so many parts of his game that I question, especially the defensive side of it. And I do scratch my head. I think he’s a long way off. I thought his performance was very, very mediocre at best. So yeah, poor.”

Sam Byram surely set to return

It was perhaps telling that Byram did not come off the bench on Friday. When Firpo came off, Daniel Farke opted for a change of shape which saw Daniel James and Crysencio Summerville patrol the left flank.

Hopefully, Byram is back available for our next game. Farke believes Byram is good enough to be the best left-back in the Championship. And it really felt like Leeds missed the 30-year-old massively against the Millers.

Firpo should not be written off given how long it has been since he had a consistent run of games. But if Byram is ready to play against Swansea, there should surely be no question at all over who should start on the left.