West Ham United in talks with Barcelona over Junior Firpo
West Ham United are keen on Barcelona left-back Junior Firpo and have made an offer to sign him this summer, according to Sport.
The Spanish publication claims that the Hammers and Southampton ‘have been talking with Barça for days to try to finalize an agreement’, with a deal expected to be struck anytime soon.
Some Italian outfits are also keen on Firpo, but they are only looking at a loan signing with an option to buy.
However, the cash-strapped Catalans are only interested in selling him and are demanding around £13.78million from suitors.
Bargain deal
While the 24-year-old has found it impossible to displace Jordi Alba in the Barcelona starting line-up, he remains a quality player, and joining West Ham could see him finally fulfil his huge potential.
Everton’s Lucas Digne was once in Firpo’s shoes at the Camp Nou, but has since established himself as one of the best left-backs in the Premier League after moving to Goodison Park.
31-year-old Aaron Cresswell does not have a lot of seasons left in his legs, while Arthur Masuaku has battled with injuries and fitness problems over the last two campaigns.
For around £14million, Firpo could be the perfect summer signing for us.
The former Spain youth international is also capable of playing at right-back and centre-back, and such versatility could come in handy for manager David Moyes.
We also need quality depth in that position in preparation for next season’s Europa League, and Firpo can bring that to the table.
He scored three goals and made four assists in 24 La Liga games in his last season with Real Betis in 2018-2019, but only featured in seven league games in 2020-21[whoscored].
The Spaniard likely craves regular playing opportunities going forward, and West Ham could be offering him just that.
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