Liverpool legend John Barnes has expressed his utter unhappiness over the rumours of the Reds exploring a swap deal with Barcelona involving Roberto Firmino and Memphis Depay. The Catalans, who have been touted as long time admirers of the Brazilian are reportedly keen on bringing him to Camp Nou. Moreover, they also want to get rid of Depay, who almost had his contract terminated with the club this summer in order to join Italian giants Juventus.
However, Barca still want to sell him before his contract expires next summer as they feel he can be used to bring in Firmino. Liverpool are in the same situation as well, since Firmino’s current deal at Anfield has less than 12 months left on it and the Reds want to make some profit off him rather than losing him for free. It was even confirmed that the 30-year-old striker held negotiations with a number of potential suitors this summer, with again Juventus being the frontrunners.
Barnes outlines Liverpool striker’s importance to Klopp’s set-up
Roberto Firmino quickly became a fan-favourite at Anfield after his blistering displays alongside Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah. The trio became a force to reckon with, as they stormed the Premier League as well as the Champions. The three led Liverpool to their first league title in 30 years in the 2019/20 season, and to three Champions League finals in the last five years, winning one against Tottenham.
John Barnes has highlighted that it was Firmino who pulled the strings behind Mane and Salah, which helped the African duo rack up goals. During their time, the three were deployed together in 105 league games by Klopp, where they combined for a whopping 198 goals. While Salah [65 goals and 21 assists] and Mane [44 goals and 17 assists] led the charts, Firmino was instrumental as well playing behind them and recording 35 goals and 16 assists.
While in an interview with BonusCodeBets, Barnes who seemed angry with the rumours of the Reds wanting to give away Firmino said:
“[Roberto] Firmino is my favorite striker in terms of what he gives his team not just in terms of scoring goals but work rate. He’s the reason Salah and Mane scored all of those goals because of the way he plays. Obviously we have Nunez who plays differently but I would always keep Bobby and if Bobby left I would be very sad. He has to decide if he wants to play regularly but if it was up to me I would definitely keep Bobby.”
Firmino was signed by Liverpool in 2015 from German side Hoffenheim for £37 million. The striker has been nothing short of a bargain, who has scored 101 goals and provided 77 assists in 335 games for the Reds so far. Firmino ha also lifted 6 trophies at the club, completing the set of the Premier League, Champions League, Super Cup and Club World Cup, alongside the FA Cup and a League Cup. He has started this season on a positive note as well, picking 6 goal contributions [3 goals and 3 assists] in 8 games so far.
Meanwhile, Barcelona once again struggled to clear their fringe players this summer with Depay being one of those. The Catalan outfit has abundance of attacking talent in their squad, with Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha added to the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres. Depay has evidently become surplus to their needs and has managed only 3 games this season under Xavi, netting once. The club plans to sell him in January, as a swap deal with Firmino now on their radars.