Jamie Carragher gave his thoughts on Roberto Firmino’s Liverpool legacy this week. The Brazilian’s future is in doubt.
Roberto Firmino started for Liverpool at Southampton last night – only the 10th time he’s done so in the Premier League this season. In fact, Firmino has only featured in 19 league games total.
That’s a pretty dramatic decline from previous years. Injuries certainly haven’t helped but for the first time in his Liverpool career, there are also serious doubts over Firmino’s place in the XI.
Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz have been exceptional since arriving at Anfield, after all. Firmino is far from a certainty to make the team, then, and that puts his future in doubt. The Brazilian’s contract expires in 2023 and there’s little talk surrounding a new one.
Roberto Firmino’s Liverpool legacy
What isn’t in doubt, though, is Firmino’s legacy at Liverpool. That’s something Jamie Carragher wanted to point out this week as he discussed the player with Sky Sports.
“You can say the quality he has, but it is what he brings to this team in the past, maybe not so much now, but we are talking about players who accept their role in the team and then come in and make a difference,” said Carragher. “He is right at the top of that list.
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“When you talk of the great players of the Jurgen Klopp era, and go right through the spine of the team, he is right at the top.”
There’s little doubt about that. Firmino isn’t just a great player but one whose skillset defines Liverpool under Klopp. His pressing from the front is perhaps the easiest way to see that, though not the only way.
Firmino’s False 9 role has brought the absolute best out of Liverpool’s wingers. Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah thrive on his movement and ability to drag defenders about. The way he links with midfield, too, has meant Klopp didn’t need a traditional midfield playmaker for a long time.
Firmino leaving will eventually leave a void in the squad and it may take multiple players to replace what he brings. There’s little doubt that he’s one of the defining players of Klopp’s era. He may even be the defining player.