Roberto Firmino will not be sold by Liverpool this summer, manager Jurgen Klopp confirmed in his pre-FA Community Shield press conference. The Brazilian was the subject of transfer rumours in recent days, with journalist Pedro Almeida claiming that a move to Juventus for a 20-22 million euro fee is near completion.
“Bobby is [the] heart and soul of this team. The way we played in the last few years was only possible because of Bobby. That’s why I’m really happy he could train the majority of the time here in the pre-season so far and everything looks really good.
“I am absolutely fine and, for me, there’s no doubt about his quality. All the rest, we will see how this year goes, but yes, he is essential for us,”
Klopp told the club’s website.
While Klopp’s comments paint Firmino as an undroppable star for Liverpool, numbers prove otherwise. The Brazilian’s influence on the forward line waned last season following the arrivals of Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz.
The 30-year-old saw just 990 Premier League minutes, a drastic fall from his average total of 2500-3000 minutes each season in the competition since he joined the club from TSG Hoffenheim in 2015. His goal contribution invariably dropped too, with five goals and four assists in the Premier League his lowest total in each category during his time in England.
The Reds have already thinned their attack this summer with the sales of Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich and Takumi Minamino to AS Monaco. Additionally, Divock Origi left the club upon the expiration of his contract before signing a deal with Italian champions AC Milan. The Reds did add a new number 9 to their roster as SL Benfica’s Darwin Nunez signed for the club in a record transfer (€75m) on a five-year contract.
