Journalist Dean Jones has claimed that Diogo Jota is set to be the long-term replacement for Roberto Firmino at Liverpool.
Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones said that the Portuguese forward is ‘perfect’ to fill Bobby’s shoes.
“I think that’s how he’ll be seen now,” said Jones when asked if Jota is being groomed to play the ‘Firmino-role’.
“He’s done such a good job of fitting in with the system and the connections that he’s made, the way he arrives at the right time to score the goals that he has.”
Jota the slotter
A few Liverpool fans were possibly guilty of being underwhelmed when the club announced the signing of Jota in September 2020.
However, the 25-year-old has taken everyone by surprise.
30 goals in 61 games for Liverpool is a fantastic record. But it is only part of the story as to why the Portuguese has been such a success.
The importance of those goals and the way in which he has scored them mean that he is now very much in Liverpool’s first choice front-line.
“The style of goals he’s been scoring has been really impressive, his mindset has been perfect in terms of taking time to adapt,” continued Jones.
“I think that he’s the perfect guy to fit into that role, to be honest, right now. It looks like, I’m hearing, Jota will be the guy that steps up.”
Goodbye Bobby
The process of replacing the uniquely gifted Firmino is a daunting one.
But Jota’s form since arriving at the club, and Firmino’s subsequent fitness issues, has meant that the process is already well underway.
It will be a desperately sad day when we can no longer call Bobby a Liverpool player.
What he has given the team stretches far beyond goals and assists. The 30-year-old is the player that Jurgen Klopp built one of the best Liverpool team’s ever around.
His perma-smile and crazy goal celebrations will be sadly missed around Anfield, and he will rightly be remembered as a Liverpool legend.
But in the here and now, no one can deny that Jota is a more than worthy successor.
He may lack some of the guile and link-up play that the Brazilian provides. But Jota more than makes up for it with his pace and movement in the box.
The former Wolves man is already a hero on The Kop. His new song is proof of that. But Firmino isn’t quite finished yet and Liverpool will need them both for the rest of the season as they fight on four fronts.
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