Liverpool legend John Barnes has admitted he would be 'very sad' if Roberto Firmino's seven-year stay at Anfield came to an end next summer and insists the striker was the orchestrator behind Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah's success at the club.
Firmino, who turned 31 on Sunday, is currently out of contract next summer. While the futures of Salah and Mane - who also had contracts expiring in 2023 - were resolved swiftly during the summer, the Brazilian's time on Merseyside is currently in limbo. Such a delay in sorting out the former Hoffenheim forward's future means he will be able to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with European clubs from January 1, 2023.
But despite signs of regression in his qualities in recent seasons, Liverpool's No.9 has enjoyed a fine start to the current campaign and is currently the club's top goalscorer in the Premier League having fired braces against Bournemouth and Brighton, while also beating Nick Pope in the 2-1 victory over Newcastle United in late August.
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And it's those kinds of performances that have caused Barnes to voice his concern over Firmino's future.
“Firmino is my favourite striker in terms of what he gives his team not just in terms of scoring goals but work rate,” said Barnes, speaking to BonusCodeBets. “He’s the reason (Mohamed) Salah and (Sadio) Mane scored all of those goals because of the way he plays. If Bobby left, I would be very sad
“Obviously we have (Darwin) Nunez who plays differently but I would always keep Bobby. And if he left, I would be very sad."
Barnes added: "He has to decide if he wants to play regularly but if it was up to me I would definitely keep Bobby.”
Firmino has been a wonderful servant for the Reds since he made the move from the Bundesliga in the summer of 2015. Having initially struggled to settle into life on Merseyside, Firmino's Anfield career took off following the arrival of Jurgen Klopp as manager.
Since then, Firmino has been the most used player (329 appearances) by Klopp during his time in management, with James Milner 39 appearances behind. However, the arrival of Nunez from Benfica for an initial £64m earlier this summer signalled a potential shift away from the system which has given Klopp, Firmino and Liverpool an abundance of joy over the last seven years.
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