Roberto Firmino’s future remains unresolved as Liverpool head into the 2022/23 season. The Brazilian, who was limited to just 10 Premier League starts during an injury-plagued 2021-22 campaign, is out of contract next summer.
Having seen Mohamed Salah sign a new three-year deal earlier this month, club bosses are now reportedly working on fresh contracts for Naby Keita and Diogo Jota, with it remaining to be seen if Firmino will be offered his own extended terms or depart on a Bosman transfer next summer. Either way, he is currently the only forward not with a long-term deal at Anfield beyond the end of the season.
As a result of his limited game-time last season, having dropped down the pecking order as a result, and with the World Cup coming up in Qatar this winter, Firmino has inevitably been linked with a move away from Liverpool as a result. Reports earlier this summer suggested Juventus wanted him to replace the outgoing Paulo Dybala, while it’s even been claimed this week that the Reds want to sign Martin Terrier from Rennes and are willing to offload their No.9 to make room for him.
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Despite such reports, the ECHO understands Liverpool have absolutely no intention of allowing Firmino to leave this summer. While there is no update on the possibility of a new contract, he is part of Jurgen Klopp’s plans for the upcoming season.
Reading between the lines, it’s perhaps easy to assume the evidence is pointing towards the Brazi international leaving the Reds as a free agent. After all, his situation feels similar to the exits of Gini Wijnaldum and Emre Can in recent years.
And having seen Sadio Mane leave for Bayern Munich this summer, with the Senegales opting to depart for a fresh challenge rather than enter contract negotiations regarding his own expiring deal, the reality of life beyond Liverpool’s famous original front three has already become very real.
However, with Firmino having also publicly admitted he wants to stay at Anfield, alternatively club bosses could feel no need to rush into negotiations. “I want to stay,” he admitted when speaking to Brazilian outlet TNT Sports Brasil before the Champions League final.
“I’m very happy here. I’m grateful to God to be here playing at a great club with great players, winning titles, and my wish is to stay.
“I want to be here, I’m happy here, and that’s all I can say. I want to stay.”
With Firmino currently one of Liverpool’s highest earners, it makes sense to see how his fortunes fare in 2022/23, as he looks to put previous injuries behind him and reclaim a starting role, before offering him fresh terms.
Regardless, the Reds are pushing ahead with their ‘retain and refresh’ transfer strategy, having tasked sporting director Julian Ward with revamping the team's attack in 2022. This time last year, Jota was the only forward with a certain long-term future at the club.
Now, 12 months on, Mane, Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi have all departed while Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz and Fabio Carvalho have been brought in. Throw in Salah’s new contract and Liverpool’s front-line has been successfully revamped, with it up to Firmino in the months ahead to prove he has a part to play in it.
Yet even if the forward is offered a new contract and extends his stay, club bosses have still planned for a future after him, and Salah too, and essentially, on paper at least, already signed his replacement.
It would be easy to assume that Nunez was Mane's replacement, given he spent the second half of last season operating as Klopp’s central striker. However, the Uruguayan, whose move from Benfica could cost up to £85m, is surely more a long-term replacement for Firmino, given the two South Americans predominantly operate the same role.
As a result, technically the Reds signed their replacement for Mane back in January when moving a transfer window early to sign Diaz from FC Porto. While it’s unclear at what point the club expected Mane to leave, Klopp did hint at such a possibility before the Champions League final.
Given it was the January signing rather than Mane playing on the left-wing for the majority of the second half of last season, such a decision was seemingly taken with one eye on Liverpool’s future.
The Reds are no strangers to this gradual passing on of the baton, signing a replacement for a player but managing to retain the services of both for a short period of time. Thiago Alcantara was essentially Gini Wijnaldum’s replacement in midfield, with Klopp enjoying a season where he could call upon the services of both.
And as he dismissed the need for a new midfielder last summer, insisting he didn’t need to sign a new replacement for the Dutchman, part of the reason for that would be because he already had one in the form of the Spaniard. Meanwhile, in defence a more subtle gradual changing of the guard is taking place after Ibrahima Konate was brought in to take over from Joel Matip and, potentially looking further afield into the distance, Virgil van Dijk.
Now Diaz succeeds Mane while Nunez is poised to take over from Firmino as another soft-succession takes place in front of our very eyes. And while Salah might have extended his contract at Anfield, Liverpool still have Harvey Elliott and Kaide Gordon waiting in the wings as potential long-term replacements for the Egyptian.
This doesn’t mean the Reds won’t sign a new forward next summer if the Brazilian did leave at the end of his contract, of course. Jota was brought in as an upgraded rotation option in 2020 after all.
But Ward was tasked with revamping Liverpool’s attack this year, that job is now complete. Where once Salah lined up with Mane and Firmino, now it will be alongside Diaz and Nunez.
The Reds’ ‘retain and refresh’ transfer strategy continues and now all that’s left to be decided is which side of that line the Brazilian will fall on as he navigates the final year of his contract.
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