Leeds United have long struggled at left-back, with Junior Firpo failing to live up to expectations after joining from Barcelona in 2021.
Javi Gracia, on the other hand, may already have a replacement for the struggling Spaniard in the form of 19-year-old talent Leo Hjelde, who has established himself as a regular at Rotherham United on loan in the Championship.
Who exactly is Leo Hjelde?
Leeds would sign the promising defender from Celtic in the summer of 2021, just a day after his 18th birthday, despite the fact that he never played for the Hoops.
He did, however, impress during a loan spell at Ross County, contributing one goal in 12 appearances, with manager John Hughes dubbing him a “massive talent” and implying that he has what it takes to follow in the footsteps of Virgil van Dijk, who made a name for himself at Celtic before becoming “the best centre-half of all time” at Liverpool, in the words of Michael Owen.
Having become a mainstay in Leeds’ U21 side, the versatile defender earned his first senior appearances in the FA Cup and Premier League last season and featured twice in the EFL Cup in this campaign before heading out on loan in January, joining Rotherham United.
He has appeared nine times for Matt Taylor’s side this season, averaging a solid if unspectacular 6.61 rating from WhoScored for his efforts in avoiding relegation from the second tier.
Despite being his first real taste of senior football in England, that is a higher rating than Firpo’s (6.52) in the Premier League this season, and the youngster has also contributed more at both ends of the field.
He has made more interceptions (1.9 vs. 1.3), clearances (2.1 vs. one), and shots (0.6 vs. 0.1) per league match.
The former Barcelona man has only received more than a 7/10 rating from WhoScored once this season, when he scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Southampton, indicating that he is nowhere near consistent enough to be a regular.
The arrival of Max Wober in January, combined with the recent return of Pascal Struijk, should limit Firpo’s game time for the rest of the season, as he is clearly a defensive “liability,” according to journalist David Anderson, with no player at Elland Road dribbling past him more so far this season.
As a result, if he does become a part-time player in Gracia’s squad, it would be well worth promoting Hjelde in his place, as he appears to have far more potential and defensive ability than Firpo.
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