Jon Newsome has told BBC Radio Leeds that he does not believe that Junior Firpo is anywhere near good enough for Leeds United, suggesting that the Whites need a new left-back in January.
Jesse Marsch has been given plenty to ponder over the winter break. Leeds fans would have been delighted had they been offered six points from their games against Liverpool, Bournemouth and Tottenham.
However, the manner of the loss to Spurs has taken some of the shine off those two wins. Leeds conceded four times to grasp defeat from the jaws of victory on Saturday.
Junior Firpo not good enough for Leeds
The defence is, understandably, coming in for criticism. And it certainly appears that Leeds need to strengthen in the winter window.
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One area where the Whites look particularly weak is at left-back. Pascal Struijk has done a good job this season. However, he is naturally a centre-back. And we could really do with the Dutchman moving into the middle.
Marsch does have a natural left-back in his squad in Firpo. However, the 26-year-old has had a poor time at Elland Road. And he was an unused substitute once again on Saturday.
It says a lot that there appear to be few calls for Firpo to come in despite Leeds conceding 11 in their last four. And Newsome has suggested that Leeds really need to look at the situation in January.
“They signed Firpo, they put a lot of money into him. I don’t think he’s anywhere near good enough,” he told BBC Radio Leeds.
“And I think that the fact that he doesn’t get picked week-in, week-out alludes to that. So that’s another area that needs strengthening. And yes it does then free up Struijk to go and play in the middle of the park if that’s the way you want to go.”
In some respects, the defeat to Tottenham can have a positive impact on the squad.
The board have come in for a lot of criticism for being too slow to react to problems when the transfer window arrives.
Had we gone into the break with three wins on the spin, it would have been a lot easier for the board to justify ignoring the issues in the squad if they could not find the right players in the market.
Of course, we have to be realistic in what we can do in January. It is not an easy market. And clubs will see the issues Leeds have and be ready to bump prices up.
But there is a real danger of Leeds being involved in a relegation battle. The race is absolutely wide open.
We arguably need a new striker, another central midfielder, another centre-back and, definitely, a new left-back. Obviously, it is going to be difficult to address all of those areas.
But there is no excuse for not making at least two signings in January. Otherwise, Leeds are asking for real trouble.