Report: ‘Insane’ player is now very close to leaving Liverpool after £19m bid made

Add as preferred source on Google

Juventus have made their first offer for Roberto Firmino, who is now ‘very close’ to leaving Liverpool

That’s according to Corriere dello Sport, who claim that the Italian giants have made a bid of £19m to Liverpool.

Negotiations are said to be ‘advanced,’ and thanks to ‘under the radar’ developments, Juventus are claimed to have nearly landed the Brazilian.

Firmino is said to have ‘welcomed’ the approach from Juve. The 30-year-old is reportedly keen to play a bigger role ahead of the World Cup in November.

Not the last we’ve heard of this

The rumours of Juventus’ interest in Firmino has been steadily building over recent days. There have been plenty of mixed signals so far. Claims that Liverpool won’t entertain any offers were countered with suggestions that Firmino is keen to leave.

At this stage of the transfer window, it would seem unlikely that Liverpool would allow their number 9 to leave the club. The new season is just 10 days away.

Of course, the transfer merry-go-round doesn’t stop when the new campaign gets underway, though. There’s still over a month to run, and Juventus will feel they’ve got plenty of time to land their target.

In terms of the fee being mentioned, it would sound about fair for a 30-year-old player with a year left on his deal. Firmino’s star has never shone as brightly as Sadio Mane or Mohamed Salah. It makes sense that his valuation would be considerably less than Mane’s was.

But does that make it worth it for Liverpool? The value they could get from keeping Firmino for another year would probably out-weight the £20m or so they could bank. As Jurgen Klopp said last year via Liverpool Echo, Firmino’s quality is still ‘insane.’

There’s still plenty left in the tank from Bobby. Unless he really is keen to jump ship to Turin, there’s no reason he can’t still earn himself a new deal at Liverpool.

Regardless, Juventus seem intent on giving The Reds a decision to make over their long-serving forward. We get the feeling we haven’t heard nearly the last of this one between now and the end of August.

Keep up to date with all the latest Liverpool news and opinion by following Rousing The Kop’s official Facebook page