Phil Hay has been speaking about the possibility of Junior Firpo playing further forward for Leeds United.

The Lowdown: Unsuccessful time at Elland Road

Firpo was handed his fourth start of the season at the weekend in the FA Cup draw against Cardiff City, which saw him register an assist for the late equalising goal that Sonny Perkins poked home.

The former Barcelona defender has only been able to start 19 league games since he joined Leeds for £13m in the summer of 2021, mainly down to him being plagued by injuries.

When starting in the Premier League, Firpo has only managed to keep two clean sheets - with one of those coming after he was subbed off at half-time, so a new role could be in order.

The Latest: New position could help Firpo

Given Firpo's lack of success at full-back, while speaking on The Phil Hay Show, Hay has teased the idea of using him further forward after his assist on the weekend.

He said: "It makes you wonder if there was an attacking licence there without the need to defend, ie used in a different position, if it would bring more out of him.

"But unfortunately, when you've paid £12-13m for somebody as a left back, that's where you need them to shine."

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The Verdict: Future now looking bleak

As Hay mentioned, while Firpo may well be a better player further forward, the fact is he has signed as a defender, and with two league clean sheets when starting to his name, that it's simply not good enough.

Therefore, it's no surprise that Marsch and Victor Orta went out and signed Maximilian Wober last week - albeit with no established cover for Firpo until then - as he can now provide a solid alternative option, including in other positions, which will make him very valuable to Marsch.

It may well be that if Firpo can't keep himself fit and start to challenge for a starting place as a left-back, Leeds may decide to cut their losses and see if anyone will take him off their hands and trim their wage bill, especially after he looked 'anxious' in the first-half in Wales on Sunday.