Marsch must ruthlessly axe "stupid" Leeds liability vs Leicester, he's cost them badly - opinion

Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch takes charge of his first game of the club when his team travel to Leicester City on Saturday afternoon.

The Whites are in desperate need of some points in the Premier League, and a good start against the Foxes would certainly provide some early momentum for the new manager.

One big call that he must surely consider making is to axe Junior Firpo from his starting line-up.

The Brazil international has found it tough to adjust to the pace and intensity of the Premier League since his move last summer, and if any match typified that struggle, then you should look no further than last weekend against Spurs.

His performance against the Lilywhites prompted a lot of criticism from pundits and journalists alike, with Paul Robinson slamming his defending as “schoolboy” and “inexcusable”, while The Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick simply dubbed him “stupid” for the way in which he picked up a cheap yellow card.

Writing in his post-match player ratings for Leeds Live, Beren Cross gave him a three, saying: “Dejan Kulusevski proved to be one of the main outlets for Tottenham and Firpo never seemed to get a handle on him. No way should the winger have been able to go from facing a corner flag to scoring inside five seconds.”

Those sentiments were echoed by Mark Smith from MOT Leeds News, who gave Firpo a four and raged: “Far too aggressive and is easy to turn, added in with his ability to get booked every single week for something so stupid.”

With Leicester boasting an exciting and pacey attack of Harvey Barnes and a returning Jamie Vardy, the duo’s movement and directness could cause Firpo some serious problems, just like Kulusevsi did last week.

Stuart Dallas could come into that left-back role if