The transfer season can be a harrowing time of year for any passionate football fan. But Liverpool faithful have been given a welcome sign of ambition following news that Brazilian and current-Copa America star Roberto Firmino will be joining the club pending a medical.
Blessed with a sharp turn of pace and an eye for goal, the 23-year-old had spent the previous three seasons with Bundesliga side 1899 Hoffenheim, where he notched a tidy 35 goals in 140 appearances from midfield.
Firmino will complete the move to Liverpool FC after his international duties with Brazil at the Copa America in Chile, with the Merseyside-based club believed to be paying an initial sum of £22 million in a deal that could rise to be worth as much as £29 million.
Even the most partisan Liverpool supporter would agree that this is a steep price. It is in fact, the second most expensive signing in the club’s history – but that is the reason to be most excited if you are a Red.
Transfer window after transfer window, Liverpool have seemingly missed out on their top targets with a reluctancy to spend big, seeing the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Diego Costa, Christian Eriksen, Mohammed Salah and Willian all sign for rival Premier League clubs.
Yes, it is fair to say that Ian Ayre has not been the most popular figure around Anfield of late – but have lessons finally been learned from previous seasons?
The swift and blunt manner in which Liverpool’s Chief Executive carried out negotiations in Santiago overnight certainly suggests so.
With the smaller signings of Adam Bogdan, Danny Ings and James Milner already sewn up, Firmino becomes the fourth summer addition to Brendan Rodgers’ side as he quickly accrues the tools needed to make an early and obvious assault on the top four.
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The signing sets the tone for a transfer window where ample progress needs to be made. A tough Premier League draw for the Reds means that a fast start is necessary if Rodgers is to be under FSG’s employment come Christmas.
But could these fixtures be a blessing in disguise?
Thus far it seems as though many of Liverpool’s off-season objectives have been met with minimal fuss, due to an aggressive and extremely effective transfer policy.
Rodgers is likely to rely on the depth of the squad and blood youngsters in the early stages of the Europa League, leaving the likes of Firmino and his new Brazilian team-mate Philippe Coutinho to forge an early domestic crusade.
The most promising aspect of Liverpool’s Firmino deal is that it has been completed so early and so quickly.
If Ayre and Co. adopt the same transfer policy which landed them this Bundesliga star, the signings of a top-class goalscorer and defensive reinforcements are not at all, out of the question.
Out of necessity, Liverpool may be forced into their first good start to a Premier League campaign under Rodgers. Should they successfully navigate their way through their first seven away matches, Liverpool could have laid the perfect platform to bounce straight back into Europe’s premier competition.
More than anything else, after an underwhelming and frustrating season that saw the Reds fail at the first hurdle in Europe, come agonisingly close to two domestic cup finals and farewell arguably their greatest ever player, Liverpool fans will welcome the Firmino deal as a signal of the club’s commitment to the cause of delivering Champions League football once more.
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