AC Milan appear to have missed out on Barcelona full-back Junior Firpo who now seems likely to join Leeds United, reports claim.
According to ESPN, Leeds are leading the race to sign Firpo who is also wanted by Southampton and several Italian sides, above all Milan and Inter. The Yorkshire side however have stepped up negotiations with Barcelona and the player is keen on the idea of a move.
There is still some negotiating to do regarding the structure of the deal and whether Leeds will pay a fee now or it will be a loan with option to buy, but Firpo believes he has a place in Marcelo Bielsa’s system and the project there.
Barca’s preference is a permanent move and that is why English sides are in the best position, because they can pay a fee. He joined Barca for an initial €18m from Real Betis in 2019 and add-ons could take the deal up to €30m. With amortisation, Barca aim to collect between €10.8m and €18m depending on how many add-ons have been met.
Meanwhile, Toni Juanmarti of Sport is reporting that Firpo is set to join Leeds, with a deal currently being closed with Barcelona. The 24-year-old had only Milan in his thoughts until Leeds entered and managed to convince him quickly, with a €15m fee likely.
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Let me correct the article for you – Milan set to miss out on every player they’ve been linked with, as they’re not prepared to pay any money for any of them.
LOL. Sad to say but you are right! Confirmed that Leeds bought him for 15M plus bonuses…what a fkn waste of time. What did we expect? We can’t even compete with Leeds Lol. No club wants to loan when they can sell for cash instead. Not even sure why we wasted so much time on this kid – 15M is a lot for a back-up – so I assume we were looking to sell Theo in next few years and have Firpo as new starter?….well that plan backfired lol. Back to square one…horrible.