West Ham in contact with Barcelona over defender Junior Firpo
West Ham are among a host of European clubs that have enquired about Barcelona defender Junior Firpo, according to Mundo Deportivo.
The Spanish news outlet claims the Irons have ‘probed’ the La Liga giants over the 24-year-old who is attracting interest from the likes of Roma, Napoli and Marseille.
Firpo is set to leave Barcelona after being on the ‘discarded list’ last season and failing to impress again in the 2020/21 campaign, featuring just six times in the league.
The Dominican Republic born wing-back has three years left on his contract after signing from Real Betis in 2019 in a deal worth up to £26 million.
Ronald Koeman’s troubled side are set for a summer exodus and it appears Firpo will be among those allowed to leave.
Masuaku replacement?
Firpo has failed to impress at Barcelona but he has been in competition with one of the best left-backs to grace European football over the last decade, Jordi Alba.
Furthermore, Firpo’s strengths lie further forward which is why he has enjoyed his most success from a left wing-back or midfield position, where he has made 37 appearances in his career and scored five goals, setting up a further six. [Transfermarkt]
Those figures drop to three and four in 62 outings as a left-back.
With David Moyes often favouring a five-man defence during his time at the London Stadium Firpo could an ideal option for the left wing-back role.
Aaron Cresswell is the first-choice left-back but he tucks in on the left of a three-man central defence when Moyes switches formation while Arthur Masuaku tends to flank him further forwards.
But Masuaku has been an inconsistent performer since his move from Olympiakos in 2016, reaching 20 Premier League appearances just twice in five seasons.
He has missed a significant chunk of the current campaign and has missed 27 of our last 29 fixtures.
It’s clear we need someone who is going to be more readily available than him, and that could be Firpo.
In other West Ham news, ‘What I’m hearing…’ – Athletic journalist drops major transfer claim on Irons star player.
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