The player Klopp wrote off and now he's world-class

Before starting his eighth season on the banks of the River Mersey, however, Firmino looked more like a depth asset than a starter. The arrival of Uruguay's Darwin Núñez to fill the centre of attack, with Mohamed Salah and Colombia's Luis Díaz expected to be alongside him, meant Firmino and Portugal's Diogo Jota would have to play the remaining minutes.

But circumstances have worked in their favour, especially the injuries to Jota and Diaz recently. The Uruguayan's troubles adapting and his three-match suspension after a red card against Crystal Palace, in a game in which Firmino was not even called up, have offered him a new opportunity which he has seized. Liverpool are still feeling the effects of Sadio Mané's departure on their play and they appreciate Firmino enormously, but they are aware that the squad is ageing and that is one of the points that could explain their current problems. The player for his part knows that teams like Juventus or Barcelona could be destinations to move to should he leave England.

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In the next game, against Bournemouth, Firmino provided three assists and scored a first-half goal in a historic 9-0 win over the newly promoted side. Klopp's attempts thereafter to switch to a 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 system to support Nunez showed that Firmino could be compatible on the pitch with the Uruguayan. That was the case against Rangers, when he provided Nunez with an elegant assist to put the Scots ahead.

But even with eight goals and four assists between all competitions, in 935 minutes played, Firmino is directly involved in a goal every 78 minutes, a higher rate than his best season at Anfield in 2017/2018, with a decisive action every 95 minutes.

<strong>Firmino is one of the best of all time</strong>

"The football world goes crazy to judge players by their stats," protested Pep Lijnders, Klopp's assistant coach in The Athletic. "You can't measure 'Bobby's' quality by stats. He is a world-class false nine, one of the best of all time, we have never doubted him. Technique, courage, threat, he represents everything we are about," he added. Despite this, no decision appears to have been made on his future and the two sides seem determined to wait until 2023 to address it.