Liverpool Legend Roberto Firmino Is Key To Continuity And Deserves New Contract

When it comes to the prospect of handing out new contracts at Liverpool FC, the focus is currently on Mohamed Salah, whose current deal expires at the end of June 2023.

It’s natural that fans will be interested and vocal about the future of a player who is a genuine Ballon d’Or contender, and one who has played a vital part in Liverpool’s recent success under Jurgen Klopp.

Sadio Mane’s deal expires at the same time, and similar superlatives as those used for Salah can be used to describe the Senagalese Africa Cup of Nations winner.

But another player, one who may be able to maintain his performance levels into his 30s more than most, also sees his current contract expire in 2023—Brazilian centre-forward, Roberto Firmino.

Firmino is one of the longest-serving players in the current squad and is approaching seven years at Anfield having joined in 2015. The 30-year-old epitomises the hard work and tactical nous required to execute one of Liverpool’s biggest attacking threats—defending from the front.

In possession, he’s a reliable and regularly available passing option who boasts control and flair in equal measure. He is as much a showman as he is a hard worker.

Firmino will be 31 by the time this contract is due to expire. When players enter their thirties they often experience a drop off in speed, but this has never really ben a big part of Firmino’s game.

While other players can rely on their ability to knock the ball past an opposition player and retrieve it, Firmino’s speed is mostly in his head, able to beat players with tricks and turns or if not, offload the ball to a better-placed teammate.

This game intelligence won’t diminish as the Brazilian enters his mid-thirties, and if anything it will increase and become more fine-tuned.

Firmino should be the type of player who can play to a high level into his mid to late thirties as his game has never been about blistering pace.

A lot is said about the importance of older players like Jordan Henderson and James Milner when it comes to leadership, experience and maintaining squad discipline and morale.

Firmino is just as important to the camaraderie within the squad. He’s often described as one of the more quiet figures in the group, but in his own way is an outgoing and extroverted character.

Like many of the Liverpool squad, he is a religious person, and his values and personality, along with those of his like-minded teammates, contribute greatly to the close-knit family that exists at Anfield among the playing staff and beyond.

Would Firmino be as desirable to other top clubs in Europe as players like Mane and Salah? Probably not, but given the way Liverpool play he is very valuable for the club he currently plays for.

He now has extra support in the central forward position thanks to the emergence of Diogo Jota as a genuine option as an out-and-out striker.

As shown above, Jota is much more of a poacher than Firmino. Even though the Portuguese can do some of the build-up work Firmino is known for, he has a knack of being in the right place at the right time, lurking in the box.

This means Klopp has a different type of option up front, but it doesn’t mean Firmino is surplus to requirements, far from it.

Liverpool are slowly acquiring the squad depth to compete with Manchester City and Chelsea in this area. They have regularly boasted a world-class first XI, but experienced a drop off once these players are unavailable.

As well as being part of that starting group, Firmino will become part of the strength in depth. He has performed the latter role this season, starting just eight league games but tellingly has started all of the most recent four as Mane and Salah have been at, or recovering from, the Africa Cup of Nations.

In a recent game, against Leicester City, he spent a period of the game in midfield, and has also acted as a number ten in a 4-2-3-1 formation. This versatility could extend his career at the top level.

Who knows where else he could do a job? After all he was a defensive midfielder in his youth.

As the club continues to add new faces such as Ibrahima Konate and Luis Diaz, with the likes of youth players Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones stepping up, continuity from previous successful groups is also important.

Firmino’s role in this will continue to be vital, whether in the starting eleven, on the bench, or simply part of the overall locker room dynamic.

The club should look to offer him a new deal, and though it won’t make as many headlines as the futures of Salah and Mane, the Brazilian should also go down as a Liverpool legend and become its longest-serving player of the Klopp era.