While this all sounded like a bit of hokey nonsense not that long ago, Liverpool’s interest in pipping bitter rivals Manchester United to the signing of Hoffenheim attacking midfielder Roberto Firmino appears to be a bit more than a well worked piece of fiction with respected journalist and life-long Red Tony Barret confirming the Anfield outfits interest in the dynamic Brazilian.
With long serving skipper Steven Gerrard trading the Northwest of England for the Southwest of the United States and the likelihood of Raheem Sterling being sold off this summer increasing by the day, a goal-scoring midfielder is exactly what Liverpool need with boss Brendan Rodgers identifying the 23-year old as a perfect fit for the brand of football he wants Liverpool to play. Now, convincing him to choose Merseyside over Manchester may not be the easiest of tasks, but the Reds are reportedly ready to up the stakes in the money game to get their man.
With talks over a £13.1mil switch to Old Trafford not set to be concluded until the end of the Copa America, there’s still time for the deal to go south — which is exactly what the Anfield outfit are looking to do. The German side value Firmino somewhere closer to £20mil and Liverpool are rumoured to be ready to stump up the extra cash to get the first crack at the attack minded Brazilian whose agent confirmed that he’ll be heading to the Premier League by the end of the summer.
“All I can say is that he’s moving to England,” said Roger Wittmann, obviously leaving out his client’s exact destination. It could very well be Memphis Depay all over again, but considering the Reds struggles in front of the net last year, the need to add serious fire-power to the squad is an obvious one and a problem that will only be fixed by attracting world class talent. Firmino certainly fits the bill…
