Leeds United have long had a problem at left-back, with Junior Firpo failing to live up to expectations following his arrival from Barcelona in 2021.
However, Javi Gracia may already have a replacement for the struggling Spaniard in 19-year-old talent, Leo Hjelde, who has established himself as a regular at Rotherham on loan in the Championship.
Who is Leo Hjelde?
Leeds would sign the promising defender from Celtic in the summer of 2021 just a day after his 18th birthday, despite him never making a first-team appearance during his time with the Hoops.
He did impress in a loan spell at Ross County, however, contributing one goal in 12 appearances for the Scottish side, with manager John Hughes dubbing him a "massive talent" and suggesting 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" – in the words of Michael Owen – at Liverpool.
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.
There, he has featured nine times this season, averaging a solid if unspectacular 6.61 rating from WhoScored for his performances in Matt Taylor's side, as they aim to avoid relegation from the second tier.
Despite it being his first real taste of senior football in England, that is a better rating than 26-year-old Firpo has managed (6.52) in the Premier League this season, while the youngster has also contributed more at both ends of the pitch.
Indeed, he has made more interceptions (1.9 vs 1.3), clearances (2.1 vs one) and shots (0.6 vs 0.1) per league fixture.
The former Barcelona man has achieved above a 7/10 rating from WhoScored just once so far this season when he scored the only goal in the 1-0 win against Southampton, which suggests that he is nowhere near consistent enough to be a regular.
The January arrival of Max Wober, combined with the recent return of Pascal Struijk, will hopefully see Firpo's game time limited for the remainder of the season, as he is clearly a defensive "liability" – as per journalist David Anderson – with no player at Elland Road dribbled past more so far this campaign.
Therefore, if he does become a bit-part player in Gracia's squad, it would surely be worth promoting Hjelde in his place, as he looks to have far more potential and defensive ability than Firpo.
