During his tenure as Liverpool manager, much has been made of Brendan Rodgers’ transfer dealings. Of all the signings made during his seven transfer windows as boss of the Reds, very few of the arrivals at Anfield could be seen as successes. For every Daniel Sturridge or Philippe Coutinho, there have been 10 Iago Aspas’s or Oussama Assaidi’s.
It is difficult to know precisely who to blame for Liverpool’s transfer mediocrity. Between Rodgers, FSG’s moneyball strategy and the mythical transfer committee, fans have a plethora of targets at which to aim their 140 character-based venom.
However, in a surprising moment of unity and support, the majority of the fanbase seemed to fall head-over-heels with the idea of signing Brazil’s Roberto Firmino. The skills, the cheeky finishes and, perhaps most importantly, a serious price tag looked like the hallmarks of a top-level Premier League signing to lead the Reds back to the Champions League.
Upon further inspection, though, the signing no longer looks like the perfect fit that it initially appeared. Rodgers has struggled to fit the £29m midfielder into the 4-3-3 system that Liverpool started the season with, as well as fellow Brazil international Coutinho: currently the first choice in Firmino’s natural number 10 position.
So my question is why? Firmino is undoubtedly a talented footballer and can perform at the top level, but with Coutinho already laying claim to his position, with Adam Lallana in reserve, surely the £29m fee paid to Hoffenheim would have been better spent on a player in a position more suited to either the system or Liverpool’s deficits.
This piece was partially influenced by my catching-up on Sunday’s Match of the Day 2 and in particular, Tottenham’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace. Tottenham’s goalscorer was, like Roberto Firmino, a summer arrival from the Bundesliga and one who had been linked with Liverpool in the past – Heung-Min Son.
The former Leverkusen man has impressed in his first few appearances for the North London side and, from what I have seen and heard so far, would have been a better suit for Liverpool than the Reds’ new number 11.
Rodgers has baffled fans and pundits of late with his insistence on a 4-3-3 formation, despite the lack of natural wingers in the squad. With Lazar Markovic loaned out to Fenerbahce and Raheem Sterling sold to Manchester City, only Jordon Ibe remains as a senior wide player. Danny Ings, Firmino, Coutinho and Lallana have all played as makeshift wingers so far this season with very limited success, due to the fact that all four players prefer some form of central role.
Son, however, has slotted straight into the left hand side of Mauricio Pochettino’s 4-2-3-1 formation, managing three goals in as many appearances for his new side.
As well as his impressive early goal scoring form, the South Korean has been noted for his enthusiastic pressing, which was almost rewarded with a goal at White Hart Lane, when Palace keeper Alex McCarthy punted a clearance into the rapidly approaching winger.
What worries me about this is it leaves me doubting our scouting knowledge and ability. If we had people in Germany to investigate Firmino, they must have heard of Son too. Leverkusen are a larger side than Hoffenheim and the Korean has performed well for several seasons prior to his Premier League move.
Now, it is possible that our scouts did look at Son and decided against recommending him to Rodgers and his committee? I struggle to see why. And more to the point, why recommend a player who can’t fit into our formation?
I have no doubt that Firmino can prove himself in the Premier League, but I struggle to see where he can play if Rodgers wants to pursue his 4-3-3 ideal.
I have a nagging worry that the signing of Firmino could be a pre-emptive signing ahead of next summer’s window. With Neymar publicly naming Coutinho as his ideal Barcelona signing and the number 10 looking a level above any of his team mates, could Firmino have been signed with a view to replacing his international counterpart?
Hopefully not. Along with many Liverpool fans, I got very excited in pre-season at the idea of the link-up between our two attacking Brazilians and I can only hope that this will eventually come to fruition.
