Junior Firpo says coming up against the likes of Crysencio Summerville and Ian Poveda in Leeds United training sessions is tough.
Firpo has been back in full team training for around a month now having spent the entirety of Daniel Farke’s time in charge on the sidelines due to injury.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Official Leeds United Podcast, Firpo has shared how positive the current mood is in training at Thorp Arch amid the side’s current recent form.
The 27-year-old says he, along with the rest of his defensive teammates all struggle up against Summerville and Poveda in small sided games due to how technical they are.
Summerville has shown on the pitch just how important his pace and dribbling is to Leeds, while Poveda has not played so much, though his technical ability is clearly evident.
Firpo enjoying being back in training
Firpo says that even if the wide duo constantly ‘rip’ the tall defenders apart, the mood remains high among the squad as everyone is ‘making jokes all the time’.
He said: “Yeah I think the mood is great. Training sessions are funny, we are just making jokes all the time. Sometimes for example we are playing 3 v 3 in small spaces, so you know you’ve got those small wingers like Summerville, Poveda, they just rip us.
“We are making jokes all the time because they are just too good in small spaces. It’s tough for us defenders, for the tall guys. The mood is great.”
Clearly the good results on the pitch are making Thorp Arch a happier place to be for the players, which can only continue to breed confidence.
Sam Allardyce described Leeds’ training ground as like a ‘prison’ when he came into the club last season, but it feels like it couldn’t be anymore different now.
Firpo is unlikely to come up against many wingers in the Championship that are as good as the ones he faces in training.
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