Roberto Firmino agent explains Liverpool plan as five…

Roberto Firmino agent explains Liverpool plan as five possible replacements emerge

Here are your Liverpool evening headlines for Saturday, March 4.

Roberto Firmino agent breaks silence on Liverpool exit

Roberto Firmino refused to hold talks with other clubs before deciding his future at Liverpool, his agent, Roger Wittmann, has revealed.

It became clear on Friday morning that Firmino's decision was to not extend his eight-year stay at Anfield as he seeks a new challenge in the summer following the expiry of his contract.

A contract was on the table for the highest scoring Brazilian in Premier League history, but Firmino made the decision to end his trophy-laden time on Merseyside.

Firmino informed Wittmann of his decision on Wednesday after the win over Wolves at Anfield before personally informing manager Jurgen Klopp of his decision on Friday.

Wittmann spoke to Football Insider about Firmino's choice: “Our plan for the next couple of weeks – this is the plan of Roberto – is to show the manager and Liverpool finally again the best version of him to say goodbye. This is what he wants to do.

“He has no clue what that means for him in the near future. He told us during the whole phase when we negotiated, ‘I don’t want to talk to anybody else, there’s no need to do that’. He said it was a decision with the club.

“This was the first time in my life he’s a free agent player and he said there was no need to talk to others! So he’s not motivated by other clubs or by financial terms – far away from that.

“The club gave him the time as well, no pressure. And he never started to compare asking us to talk to different clubs. For us [it would be] easy but this was not his intention, it was just to find his own way. This is so far away from this normal business, believe me!”

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Five Roberto Firmino replacements Liverpool can sign

Roberto Firmino's time at Liverpool will end in the summer as the curtain closes on his chapter at Anfield.

With Jurgen Klopp's side set for a summer restructure elsewhere in the squad, it poses the question of whether the absence and void left by the Brazilian will be replaced or if the German will look to the current firepower within the squad.

Firmino has suffered with injuries this season during a campaign which has seen their problems shift from the backline to the forwards. Cody Gakpo arrived at the beginning of the year in a bid to ease their issues after Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz suffered long-term injuries as Darwin Nunez had spells in and out of the starting line-up.

Liverpool opted to delve into the Bundesliga talent pool in 2015 where they picked the forward up from Hoffenheim. He arrived as a 23-year-old and has gone on to score 107 goals in 353 appearances.

Jude Bellingham is among the possible targets who could arrive at Anfield with some reports suggesting reinforcements at the back could too be called upon, but it remains unlikely that there will be a move for the 31-year-old's replacement due to the current options within the squad.