Juventus have not made any approach for Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino, according to Fabrizio Romano in his latest exclusive column for CaughtOffside.
The Brazil international is in Jurgen Klopp’s plans for the season ahead, but largely due to the fact that the Reds boss wants to ensure he has depth, rather than because he’ll be an automatic starter.
Firmino was already struggling to play regularly last season, with Diogo Jota seeing more playing time, while the club have also signed Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez in the last two transfer windows.
This looks like it could be bad news for Firmino, with Romano admitting he thinks the 30-year-old could do well to leave and play regularly if he wants to show his true magic once again.
Still, it seems any transfer rumours linking Firmino with Juventus are wide of the mark.
“So far Juventus have not approached Liverpool for Roberto Firmino. The situation is totally quiet – Jurgen Klopp considers him part of the project, especially because a lot of resources are needed in the World Cup season,” Romano explains.
“Still, in my opinion, it’s not looking like he’ll be a regular for Liverpool this season, which is a shame because he’s a great talent. I’m sure he can still contribute a lot to Klopp’s team, but if he found a club where he could be a key player he would really get his magic back.
“Leaving Liverpool will be difficult, though. They have sold players already this summer, with Sadio Mane, Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi leaving. I doubt there is much desire to sell more.”
Liverpool fans will surely hope to see this fan-favourite bounce back, but it is increasingly hard to see how he can cement a starting spot when the competition for places has increased so much.