'People need to know' - Leeds United star Junior Firpo opens up on contract future after promotion
Leeds United defender Junior Firpo has spoken about his Whites future just days after celebrating promotion at Elland Road.
Leeds United promotion hero Junior Firpo knows as much as the fans when it comes to his Elland Road future but there are some things he wants them to know.
Firpo scored his fourth goal of the season in Monday's 6-0 victory over Stoke City as Leeds did their job, before Burnley beat Sheffield United to make automatic promotion a certainty for both the Whites and the Clarets. The attack-minded left-back played a full role in the celebrations at Elland Road long into the evening, saluting thousands of fans who sang his name outside the East Stand as fireworks and smoke flares were lit.
Junior Firpo’s Leeds United contract
It was undoubtedly the high point of a four-year stint with Leeds that has included more injuries than he would have wanted, a relegation that no one wanted and a 2024/25 season that ended at Wembley but not in the way he wanted. Speaking to the YEP earlier this season he spoke of his desire to win promotion with Leeds and Gold Cup qualification with the Dominican Republic national team he captains. His contract is due to expire this summer and back in November he was in the dark over his future at club level, but at the very least he knew that if he was to say goodbye to Leeds he wanted to do so with Premier League status secured.
Speaking to the YEP again on Friday in the Bremner Suite where he and his team-mates sprayed one another with champagne on Monday night as promotion became a reality, Firpo admits he's still no clearer on what the immediate future holds.
"No, no, it's the same," he said. "Last time that we spoke, I probably told you that I was focused on promotion. Promotion is done now. But I don't know. I don't know. I think it's something to speak with the club about maybe when the season is done, you know, and they have more clear plans as well. Let's see what happens."
Manager Daniel Farke said on Friday that he has started to have talks with chairman Paraag Marathe about what Leeds need to do next to establish themselves as a Premier League club. The German told the media that the Whites will have to have a good budget, a competitive team and a spot-on record when it comes to decision making on contracts and recruitment.
If Leeds were due to play in the Championship again next season there is no doubt that the 28-year-old would already have a new contract in hand. In the second half of last season he largely laid to rest the idea that he is too injury prone, not only coping with a run of 19 starts in 21 games but thriving, adding seven assists to help Leeds earn 90 points and a play-off final place. This season he has carried on where he left off and assumed even greater importance, starting 29 times and contributing nine assists. He's just two goal contributions off the target of 15 that he set for himself when the campaign began. As a Championship player, Firpo is a serious problem for opposition sides. In the Premier League, however, there remains a question mark and that's something he's happy to address as he puts on record again his love for the club and city - all but stating a wish to remain.
"As I said before - Leeds, I've been here four years now, four seasons, and my family love it here, I love it here," he said. "My kids have grown up learning to do everything here. The city is great. I think I have a pretty good relationship with the fans at the minute. And obviously it is not a thing that I can say, that the last time in the Prem was good. I know it wasn't good, but people need to know a lot of things. They just see me perform, but they don't know the amount of injuries that I was getting. And every time that I was recovering, I was straight back into the starting XI. This is not healthy for a player. The amount of times that I had COVID, I was in and out, and I feel like the situation in the club wasn't as good as it is now. So I think in this position now it is much, much different. Also, it might be something that I would like to do, you know, going to the Prem and playing at a good level to say that I'm Prem-proven and let people know this. But as I said let's see what happens, I don't know what's going to happen but I just wanted to say this."
Elland Road promotion party
Firpo and Leeds have two games left to face this season, starting with the final home fixture of the campaign at Elland Road on Monday night when Bristol City visit. Although the club will celebrate promotion at full-time regardless of the result, they are still hunting a Championship title and simply have to match Burnley's results in order to clinch it. The defender expects a stadium in party mood.
"I think it will be a quite special atmosphere," he told the YEP. "I've been going for coffees or going for a walk with my friends, or going to places to have a drink or whatever, and just the atmosphere in the city and the happiness of everyone is unbelievable. You can feel it. So I just expect a really, really good game of football, and also that the people get to enjoy a lot what we are doing."