Harvey Elliott has named Roberto Firmino as the most underrated player at Liverpool.
The 18-year-old Liverpool man made the claim whilst answering questions on his Instagram page, as cited by the Express.
“I would say the most underrated player must be Bobby,” said Elliott. “The touches I have compared to him must be similar!”
That’s an easy one to answer. Firmino has been a huge part of the reason Liverpool have been so successful under Jurgen Klopp.
However, he doesn’t always get the credit he deserves. Perhaps it’s because his goalscoring record pales into comparison compared to more prolific teammates Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Diogo Jota.
Whatever the reason, Elliott’s comments go to show that Firmino is appreciated where it really matters – in the changing room.
Creating his own position
Firmino plays a specialist role for Klopp. Although he wears the number nine on his back, he is about as far from a ‘traditional’ player wearing that number as could be.
Bobby was described as a ‘striker’ when signing for Liverpool for £29m in 2015. But the truth is that even at Hoffenheim, he never really was.
He still scores a decent amount of goals, he has 95 in 316 games for Liverpool and 17 in 55 caps for Brazil. Hardly prolific, but not bad either.
But his game is much more than that. The 30-year-old’s awareness between the lines and ability to draw defenders towards him give Salah, Mane or whoever is playing wide for Liverpool the freedom to wreak havoc.
Searching for a successor
With his contract due to run out in 2023, and with age potentially catching up with him, Liverpool need to find a successor for Firmino.
That isn’t going to be easy. It may be that Liverpool have to alter the way they attack slightly. Jota has played through the middle a lot this season. He has been reported as being the successor for Firmino, but he offers a different skillset to Bobby.
Liverpool look at their best when they have someone to hold the ball up in attack, allowing others to bomb on.
It may be wise for The Reds to look towards a traditional ‘number 10’ type player who is used to operating just outside the penalty area, as Firmino does.
Our pick for the role is Florian Wirtz. If Firmino is underrated, the 18-year-old German certainly isn’t. He has a burgeoning reputation as someone who can score and create goals in equal measure.
Whoever it is that ends up being tasked with replacing the Brazilian, they’ve certainly got some mighty big boots to fill.
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