Leeds United receive major boost as player confirms he really wants to play with the team again
“Right now I feel very good, I have almost recovered from my last injury and I really want to play with the team again.”
For Leeds United and manager Daniel Farke, this news will be a huge boost because Firpo’s comeback may be seen as a new addition to the team.
With only one victory, three ties, and one loss in its first five Championship games, Leeds United has had a difficult start.
Ipswich Town was the team’s lone opponent, and they defeated them 4-3 on the road. In addition, they lost against Salford City in a penalty shootout, which resulted in their elimination from the League Cup.
The squad may receive a much-needed boost from Firpo’s return to fitness as they try to improve their league performance.
In a related development
Former Leeds United player was a courier for a major cocaine gang that has been jailed for more than 45 years
Authorities broke the coded phone messages used by a criminal organization that traded kilograms of cocaine and featured a former Leeds United star.
The four criminals were unaware that the private EncroChat service they were using had been broken into by police in April 2020, allowing them to listen in on their talks.
They discussed purchasing large amounts of high-grade cocaine in bulk for £42,000 per kilogram, cutting it with agents, and then reselling it.
They interacted with criminal gangs in Kent, Liverpool, and Teesside. Shepherd and Marshall were accused with money laundering as well as drug-related offenses.
Paul Shepherd was among the four perpetrators who received significant prison sentences this afternoon. (Photo credit: National World/NCA)
Dane Marshall served six years and six months in prison for his role as “chef” in diluting cocaine before packaging it for sale.
On EncroChat, drug dealer Clinton Blakey would communicate with O’Flaherty and buy kilograms of cocaine from him. He was given a 12-year prison term as well as an additional recall to complete three years and six months of additional time for a prior drug conviction.
The group cut the drugs in a flat on Leeds’ Armley Road before they were packaged and distributed.
Today, jail time was served by O’Flaherty (top left), Shepherd (top middle), Marshall (bottom left), and Blakey (bottom center). (Image by National World/NCA)
Without any proof that “ever any legitimate work” was being done, Marshall even succeeded in obtaining a £50,000 Government “bounce back” Covid-19 business loan for a landscaping company he used as a front.
O’Flaherty, 38, of Leysolme Terrace, Wortley, acknowledged conspiring to produce, conspiring to supply amphetamine, conspiring to supply cocaine, as well as additional offenses such reckless driving following an unrelated act of road rage.
After a trial, Shepherd, 45, of Wensleydale Court in Chapel Allerton, was found guilty of money laundering, making and conspiring to supply amphetamine, and conspiring to supply cocaine.
Marshall, 42, of Whinbrook Court in Moortown, admitted to buying illegal property and conspiring to provide cocaine.
After missing his first appearance at Leeds Magistrates’ Court three years ago, Blakey, 38, fled to Marbella, Spain. In May of this year, he was returned to the UK by extradition. He admitted planning to supply marijuana and cocaine.
Saul Brody offered a defense for O’Flaherty, saying: “He concedes he played a prominent part. He hadn’t staked out any mountains as he ascended the criminal food chain. He was possibly on his way to become a big-time character, but he had not yet attained those heights.
His three-year detention on remand while awaiting sentencing, according to Mr. Brody, is the longest detention period he has ever heard of for a defendant.
Richard Simons claimed that despite Shepherd’s conviction during a trial, he still felt “remorse and regret” for his actions.
Marshall sought to be placed on remand more than a year ago because he anticipated he would receive a significant term, according to Marshall’s attorney, Shila Whitehead.
In his defense of Blakey, Matthew Buckland claimed that although he had started a new life as a personal trainer in Spain, he had come to terms with the fact that he “must face a sentence”.
