Barcelona to Pursue Junior Firpo Deal Following Departure of General Manager Pep Segura

Barcelona are prepared to pursue a deal for Real Betis left-back Junior Firpo following the departure of general manager Pep Segura, who was against signing the 22-year-old.

The Blaugrana are believed to be on the lookout for a new left-back to provide competition for Jordi Alba, with multiple reports suggesting Firpo is near the top of their wish list.

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However, according to AS, Segura was not convinced by the Spaniard. He did not believe that Firpo was worth a significant fee, despite the pleas of first-team boss Ernesto Valverde to finalise a deal as soon as possible.

Now that Segura has left the club, Barcelona are ready to step up their chase of Firpo, and they hope to secure his signature as soon as possible to make up for lost time.

Betis are open to letting Firpo go, but are yet to be convinced by Barcelona's approach. The Blaugrana have offered €20m for the 22-year-old, but Betis believe that Firpo is simply worth more than that.

However, technical directors Eric Abidal and Ramon Planes disagree, and they do not want to spend more than €20m on a player who would likely remain as backup for a number of seasons.

Club officials have insisted that the problem of their backup left-back will be solved in the coming days, with or without Firpo. 

If they cannot convince Betis to play ball, then Barcelona will turn to any of Augsburg's Philipp Max, AC Milan's Ricardo Rodriguez or Manchester United's Matteo Darmian, all of whom they believe could be available for their €20m budget.

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They will certainly push for Firpo first, having been incredibly impressed with the Spaniard in recent seasons. In his 29 appearances last year, Firpo managed three goals and five assists, often operating as wing-back, rather than a traditional defender.

This energy and willingness to make an impact at both ends of the field is believed to have attracted Barcelona, who see him as the perfect heir to Alba's throne at Camp Nou.