Leeds United endured yet another miserable day out at a Cup final on Sunday, losing the play-off showpiece at the hands of Russell Martin's Southampton to cruelly miss out on a Premier League return.
The West Yorkshire outfit really underwhelmed after an electric 4-0 demolition job of Norwich City set up a one-off clash to leap back up to the top-flight, succumbing to a narrow 1-0 defeat whilst looking bereft of ideas going forward.
It wasn't just an off-day for the likes of Joel Piroe and Crysencio Summerville attempting to get Leeds back into the contest up top, with Junior Firpo also failing to cover himself in glory come full-time at the back.
This could be his final clash donning Leeds white, therefore, if Daniel Farke and Co decide to get in reinforcements over the ex-Barcelona man in the summer, based on his passive display in this crunch encounter.
Junior Firpo's performance in numbers
After being a creative force for the majority of 2024 for his once Premier League aspiring side, picking up eight assists just this calendar year including one in the aforementioned Canaries victory, Firpo faded into the background in this one-off game when attempting to make things happen.
The below-par Whites number three failed to notch up a single key pass from his 83 minutes on the Wembley turf, alongside completing zero successful dribbles on the day to try and push his lacklustre team up the field to trouble Southampton more.
Minutes played
83
90
Touches
62
69
Accurate passes
40/49 (82%)
30/35 (86%)
Successful dribbles
0/1
1/1
Duels won
3/9
9/12
Clearances
2
5
Blocked shots
0
2
Tackles
1
2
Stats by Sofascore
Kyle Walker-Peters, operating in a similarly expansive position to Firpo down the flanks for the Saints, blew Firpo out of the water in the huge contest with a more defensively solid display when glancing at the table above, with the Leeds man winning just 33% of his duels compared to Walker-Peters' nine won in total.
Football Insider's James Murray would dish out a poor 3/10 match rating to Firpo after the game unsurprisingly, stating that the 27-year-old 'offered little' to his side on the big stage.
What the future holds for Junior Firpo
It might be deemed that Firpo has reached the end of the road for his Leeds career after putting in such a disappointing effort against Southampton, with the Whites man tipped for a move away earlier in the year before breathing life back into his lengthy stay at Elland Road.
It would be a sad ending to Firpo's affiliation with the West Yorkshire side, who joined under the reign of Marcelo Bielsa with plenty of hype attached to his name arriving from the Camp Nou, only to be now remembered as somewhat of a transfer misfire.
Joining for a bumper £13m three years ago, it's safe to say the former Barcelona man has never really been fully embraced by the Whites masses despite being an exciting player to watch.
His frailties at the back were constantly exposed when Leeds were competing still in the Premier League, with promotion occurring this time around likely to have put a nail in his Whites career too.
Only picking up one clean sheet during Leeds' disastrous 2022/23 campaign, which culminated in relegation, Firpo lived up to his dire billing of being a "defensive liability" as was given to him by football journalist Juan Arango during his La Liga days before a move to England had even come to fruition.
Although Firpo has managed to win over large sections of the Elland Road faithful with enthralling attacking displays this season, the time could now be right for Farke and Co to cut ties and land an improvement on the inconsistent performer.
Whatever happens, it looks likely there will be a rebuild this summer as Leeds lick their gaping wounds ahead of another season battling near the top of the second tier.
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