When Raheem Sterling had turned down a £100 thousand pound a week deal to stay at Liverpool, many thought this was the worst news possible for Liverpool. A year before they had last their star player Luis Suarez to Barcelona. Without him they were a shadow of the side that had narrowly came close to winning the title the season before. Now Liverpool were being told by a 20 year old kid that they basically weren't good enough for him and that he wanted to play Champions League Football.
Unfourntate news for the club right? Well Yes and No. At one end of the spectrum Liverpool are most likely going to lose on of the most upcoming English talents. Liverpool have clearly stated however that they will not budge unless their £50 million pound evaluation of the player is met. If Liverpool can recompense that kind of money for Sterling they would the benefactor of the deal. Does Sterling have potential to be a great player? Yes. Is he a great player at this moment in time? NO. His dribbling and pace and some what effective but his end product to his game is missing massively. When you look at the likes of Sergio Aguero and Alexis Sanchez, who were both bought for less than £40 million you seriously have to question that price tag that Manchester City are willing to pay. So in Liverpool's point of view, 50£ million for a bloke that can't cross or shoot is a job well done and absolute financial steal. You just have to wonder weather Rodgers is that right manager to spend that kind of money after his record of brining in players from last season.
However, with the Sterling deal looking imminent Liverpool have wasted no time to strengthen the team in order to propel themselves back into the Champions League for next season. One of the young stars of the Bundesliga for the past few seasons is making the big step to the English Premier League.
Just days after scoring his first goal in the Copa America for Brazil, it was confirmed that Roberto Firmino had signed a 5 year deal with Liverpool. According to multiple sources from the UK including Sky Sports, the deal for Firmino will cost Liverpool £29 million.
Firmino is an extremely versatile attacker with an abundant of attacking talent. He's got pace, great dribbling and creativity and an outstanding eye for goal. He will bring dynamism and energy back that was missing for much of last season. He is very much like Luis Suarez and Alexis Sanchez in that respect. He will drop deep to chase and harry the opposition defenders making life difficult for them to play out of the back. For Hoffenheim, he played centrally either as a number 10 or as a false 9. In the Bundesliga over the past season, he has absolutely made his mark. Over the past two seasons his stats are as seriously impressive.
He comes from humble beginnings like most Brazilian footballers. The 23 year old was born in Maceio, which is the capital of and largest city of of the costal state and one of the most dangerous cities in the world. His father used to sell water bottles on the streets.
Currently Firmino is out in Chile with the Brazil squad preparing for their quarter final matchup against Paraguay on Saturday. With 4 goals in 9 games for the Selecao it has been a promising start to his international career.
While the £29 million price tag might seem a lot for Firmino, if Sterling gets sold on for anything between £40-£50 million they would be getting a better player for less money. Meaning they could use the profit to spend on other areas of improvement for the squad.
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