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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Tom Blow

Liverpool news: Jurgen Klopp identifies Roberto Firmino replacement amid number of exits

Liverpool recorded back-to-back wins on Saturday afternoon by beating relegation candidates Nottingham Forest 3-2 at Anfield.

The Reds, who smashed Leeds 6-1 at Elland Road in their previous outing, have endured a tough season after failing to win a major trophy and struggling in the Premier League. Yet Saturday afternoon's result has moved them up to seventh in the table.

Jurgen Klopp's side are still nine points behind Manchester United in fourth having played a game more, but they are now just three points behind Tottenham in fifth with a game in hand. With all that in mind, here are the latest headlines from Merseyside.

Contract expiry dates

After a tricky campaign, it will be tempting for Klopp to axe a number of players this summer.

As it stands, six senior Liverpool players will be out of contract in June, including goalkeeper Adrian and midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. But what about the rest of Klopp's squad? Mirror Football has rounded up the contract expiry dates for each player.

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Liverpool defeated Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon (Getty Images)

What did you make of Liverpool's performance against Nottingham Forest? Let us know in the comments below!

Klopp confirms Firmino replacement

Klopp has backed Dutch forward Cody Gakpo, who joined Liverpool in January, to fill the void left by Roberto Firmino. The Brazil international will leave Anfield when his contract expires at the end of the season, with Barcelona interested in signing him.

Klopp was asked about Firmino after Saturday's game. He said: "I think Bobby in this role is an inspiration for pretty much every player in a similar position, so that's clear.

"Cody is 23 years old, he was captain of his former club – I had no clue how that happens that early and then when he arrived here you realise, 'Ah OK, he's a super-smart kid, really open and a real team player' and stuff like this. On top of that, a really good footballer.

"He can play this position, can play wide, can play the centre. The real nine, a bit higher up, he can play that as well; double striker, can play that as well.

"So, he can create his own way there on the position, so it's not like we have to do it exactly [the same] because nobody can do it like Bobby, because nobody is Bobby."

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Liverpool's "proper mess"

Klopp, Jota and Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson have all revealed how tough it was beating Forest on Saturday afternoon.

"They made us work hard for that, especially when the ball was out," said Klopp. "That's when the game really started. The throw-ins created a proper mess for us. You can prepare a lot in football, but for this we weren't prepared well enough. We are prepared now!

"The second goal they scored, if the player isn't directly involved then players need to be aware of the situation to pick up other players. We were not aware enough.

"We had 86 per cent possession in the first half, which is a really strange thing. It made it difficult. We had to work hard, scoring the first is helpful but then the lesson in throw-ins came. We reacted twice, our goals were super smart. But we could have controlled the game better."

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