Liverpool's former director of research explains the thinking behind signing Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez - and why neither can replace Roberto Firmino directly.
Liverpool could not replace Roberto Firmino directly. They tried. 'We liked Takumi Minamino because he profiled in a very similar way,' Ian Graham, the club's former director of research, tells Sky Sports. Firmino was still at Liverpool when Minamino was sold. 'Look, it is a quality problem to have,' explains Graham, 'but the problem of having Firmino in your team is that he played that false-nine role and was really suited to it.
We knew he didn't play in the formation as a wide forward, but the way he interpreted that role did make him look more like a Liverpool wide forward.' That was the target, someone who was capable of scoring from those zones. 'What we wanted, for as close to a Mane or a Mo replacement as possible, was a wide forward. They are not a striker, they stay wide, but they cut in and have a high shooting volume.' Initially, Jota was defined by his differences with Firmino.
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