Liverpool have confirmed the signing of Roberto Firmino from Hoffenheim, the Reds’ fifth summer signing after James Milner, Danny Ings, Adam Bogdan and Joe Gomez.
The 23-year-old will complete a medical once his involvement in Brazil’s Copa America campaign ends.
Some other things to note…
He’s not an out-and-out striker
Firmino has an excellent scoring record since arriving in Germany as a 19-year-old in January 2011. The 23-year-old – he turns 24 on October 2 – scored 16 goals in 33 games for Hoffenheim in the 2013-2014 season, a campaign that saw him named that year’s Bundesliga Breakthrough Player of the Year.
He was second in the assists chart in the league that season, laying on 12 goals for his team-mates.
His return last season wasn’t quite as prolific – he scored seven and made 10 assists.
Scoring record
He has nine caps and four goals for Brazil, including the winner in last Sunday’s Copa America victory over Venezuela. In total he has 60 goals in just over 200 appearances throughout his professional career so far.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvdKS-jL2tM
He’s a cocky sort
Check out this ‘no look’ goal, which suggests there’s a bit of a swagger about him – although we could do without his awful thumbsucking celebration. Could it be that he’s like a Mario Balotelli with the added ability to play Association Football?
He’s rumoured to have cost around £28/£29m
That makes him the second most expensive signing in the club’s history, after the £35m they inexplicably spunked on Andy Carroll in January 2011.
In the current Liverpool squad, both Adam Lallana and Lazar Markovic might have most reason to fear the arrival of Firmino. Neither player set the world alight in their first season at Anfield, although the expected departure of Raheem Sterling is more likely the reason for his signing.
