When it comes to transfers, appearances may be misleading, and Leeds United are more aware than most that dream signings don’t always go on to make an impact once they sign on the dotted line.

In more recent times, one famous flop that the Whites have had to endure is United States international Brenden Aaronson, who had a severely poor debut campaign after joining from Red Bull Salzburg for £24.7 million.

Having pursued the young American for a long time, the midfielder did not ultimately prove worth the wait for those at Elland Road, scoring just once and producing only three assists in 36 league games last season.

The Yorkshire giants had enjoyed a promising start to the season, with Aaronson helping to drive his new club to an unbeaten three-game run at the start of August, scoring in a 3-0 home triumph over Chelsea.

In reality, the 22-year-old has since been loaned out to Bundesliga high-flyers Union Berlin, with Leeds undoubtedly regretting ever having invested in the disappointing dud.

The same can be said for Junior Firpo, an injury-prone asset who has failed to live up to his early billing.

Why did Leeds sign Junior Firpo?

After a great return to life in the Premier League in 2020/21, with a strong ninth-place finish in style, then-boss Marcelo Bielsa appeared to be looking to take his team to the next level, with European qualification presumably on the agenda.

With that in mind, a higher caliber of player appeared to be required to assist the Whites in achieving that aim, with left-back in particular being an area of noteworthy worry following the departure of Ezgjan Alioski – who went on a free transfer that summer.

The latter had been a respectable performer in 2020/21, with two goals and three assists in 36 league appearances, but the North Macedonia international had decided for a change of scenery, having contributed 41 goals and three assists in 171 games across all competitions during the previous four years.

Despite the loss of a player who had been “a good servant” to the club, according to ex-Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips, it appeared as if the versatile asset had been upgraded, with the £12.8m arrival of Firpo from Barcelona.

At least, that was the opinion of analyst Kevin Campbell at the time, who claimed following the signing: “I think he will fit right into what Leeds want to do because technically he is very good, you have to be to play for Barcelona.”

“I’d say he’s better defensively than Alioski as well.” He hasn’t started many games for Barcelona, but you can’t put too much stock in that given that Jordi Alba is ahead of him.

“He has looked good when he has played so Leeds fans, you can get very excited.”

Such rave reviews likely had the Elland Road faithful dreaming of a quality, long-term solution at left-back, yet it is fair to say it has not panned out that way in the years since.

What has gone wrong for Firpo at Leeds?

According to 90min’s Scott Saunders, the former Spain U21 international has proven to be a “absolute disaster” for the club after his poor performance in last season’s tie with Newcastle United, in which he gave away a penalty for a late handball.

Just over two years after joining from Camp Nou, the 27-year-old has made just 51 appearances across all competitions, with only 41 of those coming from the start.

Due to a string of injuries, the former Real Betis ace has provided nothing at either end of the game for Leeds, scoring twice and registering just four assists in total – a long cry from Alioski’s record.

Last season, in particular, the forgotten man kept just one clean sheet in 19 top-flight appearances, contributing only one goal and one assist and averaging only 0.4 key passes per game as a reflection of his lack of creativity and attacking threat.

This is in sharp contrast to Alioski’s final season at Leeds, where he helped keep ten clean sheets from 36 league games while contributing five goals and averaging 0.8 critical passes per game, according to Sofascore.

It is then no surprise that Firpo has been lambasted by pundit Jon Newsome as a player who is seemingly just not “anywhere near good enough”, as “the fact that he doesn’t get picked week-in, week-out alludes to”.

Is Junior Firpo injured?

Unsurprisingly, the former Barcelona man’s aspirations of recovering his faltering career have been thwarted yet again by injury, with the £60k-per-week liability yet to appear this season.

Having previously appeared destined for a summer exit after only two seasons in Yorkshire, it remains to be known what awaits Firpo once he recovers from this latest setback, with current manager Daniel Farke strengthening his left-back department with the addition of Sam Byram.

With two years still left to run on his current contract, it may be the case that the Santo Domingo-born dud remains something of a financial burden for Leeds for the foreseeable future, with it perhaps best that an exit is sanctioned in January.

That would mark a sorry end to what has been a wretched spell in English football for the forgotten man, with the aforementioned Campbell having been made to look rather silly after hyping up the defender’s signing to such a degree.