Roberto Firmino

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Bwuk

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Sterlings replacement then.

Is he as good as Sterling? I can't really claim to have seen him much so I'm not bothered he's ended up there.
 

walsh

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That's the question though. Is he actually any good?

Can't say I've seen much of him at all. Have our resident Bundesliga experts commented?
No idea. It's the faux mocking of Liverpool for paying apparently over the odds when most would have been delighted to see us sign him (again, without knowing anything about him of substance) that irks me.
 

C'est Moi Cantona

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Could somebody just clarify this guys best position to me, is he a behind the striker player? If so we would surely never have been in for him with Mata, and probably Rooney fighting for that position next season.
 

walsh

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Could somebody just clarify this guys best position to me, is he a behind the striker player? If so we would surely never have been in for him with Mata, and probably Rooney fighting for that position next season.
Without knowing much, I thought he was more of a number 10 but by all accounts he's regarded as a 'forward.'

We don't really play with a second striker/#10 anyway if van Gaal sticks with his apparently favoured formation.
 

Macern

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Could somebody just clarify this guys best position to me, is he a behind the striker player? If so we would surely never have been in for him with Mata, and probably Rooney fighting for that position next season.
He plays behind the striker at Hoffenheim, and as a false 9 for Brazil. He can play anywhere in attack, but he's not a striker really.
 

NJM78

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Could somebody just clarify this guys best position to me, is he a behind the striker player? If so we would surely never have been in for him with Mata, and probably Rooney fighting for that position next season.
Behind the forward anywhere across the park, seems to have a free role when I have watched him in Bundesliga but yes he would be better there but can be used as a false 9 like Dunga uses him for Brazil. He has a better range of passing than Mata and Rooney for me so I would have liked to have seen him here personally.
 

Invictus

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Don't care to be honest.

Firmino's best utilized as a #10 who has an above average workrate, and operates a few yards behind he striker, can thread intelligent through balls, while offering lots of movement in a 4-2-3-1 type scheme like the one Hoffenheim employed. There's a 99% chance that we will transition completely to Van Gaal's 4-3-3 system in 2015/ 2016, so that advanced #10 position kind of becomes obsolete unless we revert to a 5-3-2, or a 4-2-3-1 (like the one Bayern had wherein he would reprise the Muller role), or a 3-4-3 (Litmanen role) or plug him in the Fellaini 2014/ 2015 role (something which wouldn't really address the team's balance issues because he's not a box-to-box midfielder that Van Gaal ideally wants).

He is versatile to an extent, can play out wide, or as a striker (does so with Brazil), but the overall effectiveness of his play goes down since that detracts from his primary qualities. Plus from a systemic fit standpoint - Van Gaal wants his wingers to stretch the field while also being able to drift inwards ala Ribery or Robben. Firmino would be on the left flank within that scheme, but we already have Memphis who might be the better player long-term, and Firmino operates best in more central positions anyway. Even as a striker, he doesn't fit Van Gaal mold of more traditional #9s who carry the brunt of the attack ala Van Persie or Kluivert. Firmino hasn't evidenced that ability to lead from the front at a high level, while being a proficient 25+ goal per season source yet.

If we did sign him, he'd be another potential headache, a good player, but someone who's a tweener, who doesn't ideally fit the make-up of Van Gaal's starting XI, might create friction within the squad, and eventually falls to the wayside. Rightly or wrongly, would rather sign players who are good systemic fits for Louis' system, and can perfectly execute his tactical instructions.
 

Sam

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Lets be honest, this could turn out to be an annoyingly good signing for Liverpool. There's no point pretending we don't care etc etc
 

RedSky

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Sam

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British journos really don't understand the difference between euros and pounds do they? :lol:
 

Loublaze

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dippers are not messing around in this transfer window.
Same can be said last season when they raided Southampton. They have bought nothing players as usual

Lets be honest, this could turn out to be an annoyingly good signing for Liverpool. There's no point pretending we don't care etc etc
I've said mentioned in this thread how he hasn't impressed me at all
 

RedSky

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Reported by Eurosport, Yahoo and Telegraph to be pounds not euros.
If the Hoffenheim chairmen says its 30m euros then its a good bloody chance that its euros dont you think? Unless the Liverpool transfer crew decided that theyd be awesome and offer more than the quoted figure. :lol:
 

shabz

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If the Hoffenheim chairmen says its 30m euros then its a good bloody chance that its euros dont you think? Unless the Liverpool transfer crew decided that theyd be awesome and offer more than the quoted figure. :lol:
Yeah he did say that. But I feel due the interest from other parties Liverpool have decided to take the offer you can not refuse route. :lol:
 

Eric'sCollar

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Stated it a few times, not because I don't like what I see but I think it would have been a complete waste to bring him in considering the quality we have there. So I'm pleased that it's not us bu really, I never saw any link with us, I highly doubt we were ever interested, it just made no sense.
 

JustFootballFan

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Damn. Hoffenheim make out like bandits. SAP Hopp pumping a lot of money into his boyhood club, but the club also gets some money back for smart purchases like Luis Gustavo, Demba Ba and Firmino.
 

united_99

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German media are reporting anything between 35 and 41 mil € strangely. Some say Liverpool are paying more than originally thought and that the PL wealth/money is starting to being delivered to the Bundesliga.
 

Ibi Dreams

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Sterlings replacement then.

Is he as good as Sterling? I can't really claim to have seen him much so I'm not bothered he's ended up there.
He's more productive than Sterling if you just look at goals/assists. I've hardly seen him play but from what I've read he is a consistent threat and can play pretty much anywhere across the front. Honestly think he would have been a good signing for us, though I get that we're stocked already for attacking players. I expect him to do well.
 

saivet

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I though this guy was meant to considerably cheaper than £29m? Ah well, can't say I've seen enough of him. I get the sense he's not all that good anyway (based on pretty much nothing) so I'm not that bothered.
 

NotoriousISSY

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I think it's a cracking deal...from what I've seen of the guy. But like us, not really what they were crying out for. Still yet to address their need for a top striker and the gaping hole in midfield, along with another centre back and a right back.

Unless of course Brendan thinks Ings, Can and Milner can cover the majority of those positions to a high standard, which they can't.

Either way, a three of Firmino, Coutinho and Sterling if they manage to keep onto him looks good on paper. AND if Sturridge stays fit ahead of them, it's a great set of starting attackers.
 

Bob Loblaw

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Pretty excited by this signing but in all honesty haven't seen anywhere near enough to have a proper view.
 

gofelx

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Firmino is a good player and I think he can improve Liverpool. 40m€ is a lot of money though, not sure he's worth that much.
Regarding his stats, they are kind of misleading, especially the ones from the 13/14 season. Hoffenheim basically played without their defense, most matches ended 4:4 or 2:5 or something like that. Firmino was able to get a lot of easy goals that way.
In the second half of this season he faded away a bit, so I'm suprised that he was called up to the National team during that period. He's done well there though so far.
I wouldn't expect wonders from him at first, he will need time to settle in just like he did at Hoffenheim. Will be interesting to see how he does at a much bigger club as Hoffenheim is pretty much as small as it gets in terms of fanbase and media coverage in Germany.
 

hobbers

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41m euros, jesus.

So that will cancel out what they will get if they sell Sterling this summer. Then if they spend, say, £15m for Clyne, that's the vast majority of their typical transfer budget.

Explains why they were chasing freebies. Looks like their strike force is going to end up just Sturridge, Ings, Origi and Balotelli.
 

Tommy

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Replacing Sterling, Gerrard & Johnson with Firmino, Milner & Clyne? That wouldn't be too bad for similar wages & no net spend.
 

goin4glory

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He's an attacking midfielder not a striker and he's an excellent player. Doesn't really matter though since BRENT will play him as a right wing back and he'll fail terribly.
 
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