Roberto Firmino has insisted he wants to stay at Liverpool as he moved to quash speculation about his future.
The Brazilian, who is in the final year of his contract at Anfield, has been linked with Juventus, though Liverpool do not want to sell him.
And Firmino, who only needs two goals to bring up a century for Liverpool, confirmed he is not looking to leave in this transfer window.
“I love this team, this city and the fans,” he told TNT Sports in Brazil. “I’m here. I want to stay of course.”
Firmino only started 10 Premier League games last season in an injury-hit campaign as he slipped down the attacking pecking order but he was preferred to new signing Darwin Nunez to begin Saturday’s Community Shield win over Manchester City.
It was a show of faith by Jurgen Klopp, who on Thursday underlined Firmino’s importance as he said he wanted to keep the forward.
“Bobby is crucial for us,” the Liverpool manager said. “He is the heart and soul of this team. He is essential for us.”
While Nunez has come in, with Sadio Mane, Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi leaving, Liverpool have fewer senior attackers in their squad than last season and are not looking to offload any of their five main forwards, while Diogo Jota’s hamstring injury could make Firmino still more important in the short term.
