'Special' Leeds United emerging star gets senior vote of confidence as defender hopes for new signings
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The left-back says promotion to the Premier League was on his mind when he made the decision to remain at Elland Road this summer. It's not so much of a new-look squad that he's linked up with since coming back to Thorp Arch from his post-international duty holiday period, the nucleus of the side is the same and in Saturday's friendly win against Valencia the starting line-up had just one new face in Jayden Bogle. Continuity is what Leeds hope can be a building block of a successful bid to escape the Championship, but the recruitment they have completed thus far and the return of Brenden Aaronson and Max Wober from their respective Bundesliga loan spells gave Farke options off the bench against Valencia. He will need more though, in Firpo's eyes.
"Pre-season has been pretty good so far, we ended it in a good way," he said. "We wanted a clean sheet but in the end they scored one goal. It's normal when you make a lot of changes and the game stops too much but Valencia is a really good team in the first division in Spain and I think we showed we're a really strong squad. I'm pretty sure we're in a much stronger position as last season when we were at this stage. If you could see today the team that we put on the pitch, if you could see this bench that we've got. Obviously we maybe need a few more additions to have that depth that last season was so important in some moments when we were tired, when some players were injured. But I'm really sure we're in a really good, strong position to start the season and try to win as many games as possible."
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Hide AdBeyond new faces, nothing much will change for Leeds this season. The goal is the same, the style of play will be too and the manager is not about to reveal an alter-ego. "I already know him from the last season and he's pretty calm, he doesn't lose the nerves," said Firpo. "He's more or less the same during the whole season. I don't expect anything different to be fair, just preparing for the games as we always do and we'll go from there.
"We obviously have one target, me especially I have this target because last season was quite shocking, you know when you lose the game, the promotion, in the last game and then you go into the summer and you have time to think about everything. But at the end of the day I just decided to stay here and go for promotion. We as players all know what the target is, what we have to do. Obviously we don't like to talk about it in the media because it puts more pressure on but everyone has to know what is the target and we'll go for that."
Firpo was one of a number of Leeds players who appeared to relish the physicality of Saturday's game against LaLiga opposition, winning initial duels and then drawing subsequent fouls from his markers en route to what felt like a comfortable win. Valencia's goal came in the final minute and Leeds could easily have scored three or four had they made the most of some promising positions and set-piece chances. A former LaLiga player himself, Firpo was unsurprised that Valencia began to focus more on the rough stuff as it went on.
"I think you have to keep in mind they're a first division in Spain, they've been in the top half, they come here and are 2-0 down after 30 minutes," he said. "We were playing really good, aggressive football, winning every duel, we were all over them and obviously you have to show some pride. I think that's what they did. Maybe they went a little bit over the line but it's football. You want to try and win every game and you come here to play against a Championship team and think oh this will be easy but we are Leeds, we are not a Championship team."
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Hide AdThe game also suggested that Firpo will continue to enjoy a license to roam under Farke. Not only was he often positioned high and wide on the left, the defender popped up centrally as well in an attempt to create against Valencia.
"This manager gives me freedom, tries to give me as much freedom as he can," he said. "He takes the best out of my game, I have this freedom to move around wherever I want. I try to look for the space, try to have good combination with Willy, Brenden, whoever is playing on the left wing. If they are wide I go inside, if they are inside I go wide. This is me, this is my football. The way that we play treats me too good so I just enjoy it."
And he wasn't alone. Georginio Rutter was a menace in the final outing of pre-season, producing a display that suggests his confidence is sky high ahead of the Championship opener against Portsmouth. Rutter's importance is not something Firpo plays down.
"We all love Georgi, everyone tries to take the best of him," he said. "He's a player we have to play around, especially in attack because he's the one who will try to win us the games to try and get promoted. The defence is really important as well but I think he's the main man, he deserves it and he showed it [against Valencia]."
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Hide AdBut the individual perhaps coming in for the most praise throughout this pre-season period is one close to Firpo's heart. Mateo Joseph got on the scoresheet for the third successive friendly and has put together a compelling case for the number 9 role in Farke's starting XI when the real stuff kicks off. Firpo has had a front row seat for Joseph's development and believes he has what it takes now to lead the line, if Farke gives him the nod.
"To be fair with Mateo it's a special thing, he came here when he was really young and I've been with him all these years and I could see him growing up and being the player he is right now," said Firpo. "He's not just scoring goals - he's scored a lot in pre-season - it's all the work that he puts in, the effort, he tracks back defending with us, holding the ball up, going on the counter, I think he has everything to be a really, really good striker and whoever we go with, Mateo, Patrick [Bamford] or Joel [Piroe], I think we have really good options. We just have to work with them and try to bring them far up the pitch and I will try to make the most assists that I can for them and they can score goals."
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