£14.5m down the drain: £55k-p/w LUFC dud has been draining Radz's pockets for 32 weeks - opinion

Having ended their first season back in the Premier League in ninth place after a 16-year absence from the top flight, Leeds United spent just over £53m on bringing new players to the club last summer according to Transfermarkt.

One player that the Whites brought in during the summer who has arguably been a waste of money is Junior Firpo.

Leeds signed the left-back from Barcelona 32 weeks ago in July last year in a deal worth a reported fee of £12.8m after Ezgjan Alioski left the club.

Since then, the 24-year-old – who is currently the sixth-highest earner at Elland Road with a wage of £55k-per-week according to Salary Sport – has played in 14 Premier League games and picked up five yellow cards, with no goals or assists to his name.

Along with his lack of goal contributions and familiarity with referees, Firpo’s overall performances have not been much to shout about either, with WhoScored giving him an overall season rating of 6.39/10, making him one of the lowest-rated Leeds players to have started more than one league game in this current campaign.

This shows that the defender has not hit the ground running in England with Leeds and may not be suited to playing in the Premier League at a high level, arguably ransacking Andrea Radrizzani’s pockets since his arrival.

In addition to Firpo’s poor performances, injuries have disrupted his debut season with Marcelo Bielsa’s side, which will have been frustrating for everyone at the club and adds to the argument that the Whites have poured a combined £14.5m (from his transfer fee and weekly wages) down the drain.

If the former Barcelona man can end the season with some consistently strong performances under his belt for Leeds, this could put to bed any doubts about the