‘Insane’ Liverpool player will define their transfer plans despite expected exit in 2023

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Roberto Firmino may well exit Liverpool in 2023 with the expiration of his contract. Despite that, he’ll define the Reds’ transfer plans.

Liverpool will need to replace Roberto Firmino, provided he does indeed leave at the end of the season. The Brazilian’s contract will expire and there’s little talk about a new one. Jamie Carragher expects him to depart – and it’s difficult to disagree.

The Reds would then need to replace Firmino but how they do that isn’t clear. Technically, they signed his replacement this summer in Darwin Nunez. The Uruguayan is a centre-forward, much as Firmino as been under Jurgen Klopp. You’d think that Nunez would take the starting role, albeit as a much different player.

But it’s not as simple as that.

Roberto Firmino nears Liverpool exit

We imagine Liverpool would like to sign a winger next year. Firmino would leave, Nunez would take the central spot, and the Reds can focus on finding cover behind Mohamed Salah, where they don’t really have any.

That really depends on Nunez and Firmino, though. Nunez is an out-and-out striker, someone who leads the line and plays as the focal point of an attack. Firmino is different, playing the centre-forward role as a False 9 who links play and creates space for others.

Liverpool are quite clearly trying to move from Firmino’s style to Nunez’s. You can see that in the fee paid for the latter, while Jurgen Klopp is using attacking midfielders more often right now. They’re taking on the job of linking play between the lines.

We’re yet to see if Liverpool can find success with Nunez up top, however, and whether that style can deliver the same kind of success as the False 9. There’s a genuine chance that it can’t. At the very least, there’s a chance that Firmino’s performances this season show a need to have a False 9 in the squad.

That would change next summer’s plans. Whether it’s not signing a forward at all and renewing Firmino’s contract, or signing a player of a similar type, it would mean not going all-in on Nunez’s all-action style.

Klopp believes it’s ‘insane’ how much Firmino brings to the role. That explains why Liverpool would move towards a different style, believing no replacement can truly replicate what they have now.

Firmino’s performances are perhaps enough to change minds at the club, though. If Nunez doesn’t click and Firmino keeps performing, Liverpool may need to change their plans and hunt for a False 9 next summer. Or lockdown the one they’ve got.