The January transfer window is a mere few hours old and already a far-fetched Liverpool rumour has emerged.
Former Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino has predicted that Roberto Firmino could leave the Reds and sign for Aston Villa.
Firmino has made just 15 appearances in all competitions this season, but has been hampered by two separate muscle injuries.
Due to his lack of game time, Cascarino believes that Firmino could end up leaving Anfield to move to Villa Park before the transfer window closes.
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“It’s only my gut feeling, I think they’ll go for one big Liverpool player,” Cascarino told TalkSport.
“I’ve got a feeling, I wouldn’t be surprised if Firmino went to Villa.
“And I say that because there’s always puzzles to managers and their former clubs. They love going back to people they work with.
“Danny Ings hasn’t worked out at Villa. I’m surprised because I like Danny, I think he’s a terrific player but it doesn’t feel like it’s worked out.
“I think Ollie Watkins needs a type of Firmino player to get the best out of him.
“Gerrard is going to look for that type of player. When he talks about being exciting for the fans, they’re going big.
“People might say Klopp will never let him go. But he’s been a sub way too often. Jota has taken his place at Liverpool.
“He (Gerrard) might know there’s a possibility of getting someone. I don’t necessarily think it will be Firmino, what I’m saying is it’s got to be that type of signing.”
This isn’t the first time that Firmino has arguably been under-appreciated by those outside of Anfield.
Ever since Klopp took over at Liverpool, Firmino has been his first-choice striker which has come with the inevitable expectation of scoring goals.
Anyone who has watched Liverpool and Firmino play knows that scoring goals is not the main reason why Firmino is in the team.
Gary Neville is just one high-profile pundit to hit the nail on the head when it comes to the importance of Firmino’s role in the side.
"Any manager in the world would love to have Firmino as their centre-forward," Neville told Sky Sports back in January 2020.
"I think he’s absolutely incredible. He’s selfless, brilliant, scores goals, sets things up, they can link off him, makes all the right runs, an outstanding player.”
If a former Manchester United player appreciates Firmino, then you can be sure that Klopp and the rest of the Liverpool team-mates do as well.
Klopp’s words after the Brazilian scored a hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Watford in October highlights just how important the striker is to the way Liverpool play.
“Bobby is a very positive but very, at least with me, calm person,” Klopp told Liverpoolfc.com back in October.
“Everybody loves Bobby, there’s no doubt about that. The whole team. How can you not?
“If he would not be a nice person, the players would love him because he is doing all the work for them that helps them a lot.
“Obviously Mo and Sadio love him because he puts them up, passes the ball, even if it’s not the last pass always but the second-last.
“All the midfielders love him because he is chasing all the offensive players of the opponents in their traps. And the last line loves him, of course, as well for the same reason.
“Ali and him are anyway best friends. Yeah, how can you not love Bobby Firmino? There’s no reason for it. A great guy.
“And when he scores there’s always this extra little bit of joy because we always have these discussions, which are not ridiculous but we never had the discussions about Bobby not scoring enough.
“But we faced the questions quite frequently when there are periods when he doesn’t do that. But he wouldn’t play if he would not be incredibly important anyway in all these different situations.”
Firmino may not be the most prolific striker in front of goal, but there’s unlikely to be one that’s more appreciated among his team-mates across Europe.
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