Roberto Firmino has established himself as one of the best strikers in Europe (Getty Images)
Bojan Krkic has urged former club Barcelona to sign Liverpool star Roberto Firmino ahead of Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez in the summer, as per the Mirror.
Firmino, 29, came through the ranks of Figueirense’s youth system in Brazil. He was signed by Bundesliga side TSG Hoffenheim in January 2011. After a successful four and a half seasons in Germany, he moved to England with Liverpool.
After a slow start under Brendan Rodgers, he immediately established himself as the first-choice striker under Jurgen Klopp. Firmino has become one of the best strikers in Europe and was instrumental in Liverpool’s Champions League trophy-winning campaign. Thus, Barcelona should make a move for the Brazilian this summer.
The Catalan giants, meanwhile, have not been at their dominating best throughout the campaign. A string of inconsistent performances earlier in the campaign saw Ernesto Valverde lose his job and Quique Setien was appointed as manager.
Though the are currently atop the La Liga standings, 2 points ahead of rivals Real Madrid, Barcelona have faced certain limitations. They also could not retain their Spanish Super Cup title after losing to Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals and they seem far from their best.
Apart from Lionel Messi, none of the Barcelona players have come out with their individual best and the team has failed on several occasions.
The attacking unit has also not performed well despite signing Antoine Griezmann in the summer from Atletico Madrid. And the defence has also been shaky throughout the season. Thus, the manager needs to reinforce the squad with fresh faces in the summer to do better in the next campaign.
One of the major reasons for the lacklustre performance upfront is the absence of Luis Suarez due to injury. The Uruguayan is their first-choice striker and he has been irreplaceable in the past few years.
The Catalans did buy Martin Braithwaite last February to replace the injured striker. He has featured in just 3 La Liga games and hasn’t yet scored yet.
Moreover, Suarez is also 33 and is nearing the back end of his career. Thus, it would be a wise decision by the club if they bring in an experienced centre-forward to take over from the Uruguayan.
In that regard, signing Firmino from Liverpool would do Barcelona a world of good. He has scored more than 10 goals in each of the league campaigns with Liverpool so far. Despite being a proper striker, the Brazilian has also been able to provide a lot of assists for his teammates. This season, he has already racked up 8 goals and 7 assists.
The Brazilian international has made over 400 career appearances and would be an ideal replacement for Suarez given his experience at the top level. He is capable of playing in several positions and his inclusion in Setien’s squad would be a massive boost to the team.
Firmino is in the form of his life and is just 28. He would provide Barcelona with the stability in their attack and would also add the much-needed depth in the squad. Thus, the Catalans should listen to their former player and secure the services of Firmino ahead of the inexperienced Martinez in the summer.
