Liverpool will have questions about Roberto Firmino after his latest injury. The Brazilian enters a difficult period.
Liverpool revealed on Tuesday that Roberto Firmino has a foot injury. He missed the game with Manchester United as a result – but this is far from his first issue this season.
In fact, Firmino only has nine Premier League starts this season and another nine appearances from the bench. Total his minutes and you get 894 – not even 10 games’ worth.
That’s an enormous drop for a player who started 34, 32, 31, 34 and 33 games in each of his previous seasons under Jurgen Klopp. Firmino could start every subsequent game now and he’d still only have 15 to his name. Under half of his previous lowest, then.
It’s particularly notable to see because Firmino’s contract expires in 2023. He enters the final year this summer and everyone expects negotiations. But for a player who can’t stay fit, how much power does he have in those negotiations?
Roberto Firmino at Liverpool
Firmino now appears to be third-choice in that False 9 role. Both Sadio Mané and Diogo Jota start there over him, despite it being the role he perfected for the team. There’s a reason the likes of Ian Wright consider him ‘elite’, after all.
Couple that with decreased availability and just what will Liverpool offer Firmino this summer? It’s difficult to say and the Reds will almost certainly question how much they can afford to invest in the player.
A five-year contract on a big wage legitimately is almost guaranteed to be out of the question, especially with so much competition in those forward roles. This likely comes down to how Firmino sees his future, then.
If he’s only with a squad role, we imagine the contract will be there for him. It looks impossible for him to secure a first-team, star contract at the moment, though. There was a chance if he shone over the last few months of the season but, instead, there’s another injury.
Liverpool will question what Firmino’s future truly looks like.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
