Liverpool’s most expensive and most exciting summer signing to date Roberto Firmino has given his first proper interview since moving from Hoffenheim for £29m.
We concluded a deal for the Brazilian 23-year-old while he was on international duty at the Copa America alongside our very own Coutinho, and at the weekend, our club doctor flew out to South America so Firmino could complete his medical (via Echo).
The player himself cannot wait to get started, but at the start – wants to keep improving and settle quickly.
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“First and foremost, I’m looking forward to the new challenge and I’m excited to see what the Premier League has to offer,” he told Hoffenheim’s official website, cited here by Liverpool’s official website.
“Of course everything will once again be new to me at the start. I’m going to have to get used to a new playing style, but I’ll also get the opportunity to improve my game even further there.
“Obviously I’d like to establish myself as a starter in my new team and go on to celebrate a lot of success at Liverpool.”
“I was only 19 when I came to Hoffenheim,” he continued.
“Everything was new to me – a strange country, a foreign language. That was not easy at the beginning. Europe was a big adventure to me and of course I had my doubts.
“I developed as a player and as a person. By working hard at Hoffenheim, I made it into the Selecao [Brazilian national team]. That is a dream come true to me and I know who I owe gratitude to.
“A lot of people believed in me during times when things did not go perfectly. I will keep my time at Hoffenheim and the people I met here in my heart forever.”
Since Firmino arrived at Hoffenheim from his homeland he’s bagged 49 goals in 153 appearances – which is absolutely outstanding statistics from an attacking midfielder. The Echo report cited earlier claims that James Rodriguez is the only midfielder involved in more goals in the past three seasons in the whole of Europe, and that no other Bundesliga player completed more through-balls last term.
His talent is unquestionable, and we can only hope Firmino manages to find his feet quickly in the notoriously difficult Premier League. Coutinho managed to do it and is now our best player, and we hope that the pair can link up as superbly for us as they have done for the Brazilian national side.
Firmino is on a break now following the Copa America, but will join up with the squad at the back end of the pre-season tour of the Far East.