Liverpool CLOSE in on next Roberto Firmino transfer

The Reds are closing in on their next Roberto Firmino.

Earlier this season, Arne Slot was asked about the type of no.9 he would prefer to play with. This was around the time when the Reds' forward line was struggling.

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'Struggling' obviously comes with a caveat because this forward line still scored the most amount of goals in the Premier League this season and won the league with four games to spare.

Nonetheless, it is fair to say both Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez have been underwhelming to say the least. Which is why a few months ago, Slot was asked what kind of forward he wants to play after deciding to use Luis Diaz in the role for a number of matches.

Speaking in his press conference ahead of the Reds' clash against Tottenham in the Carabao Cup, Slot said the following:

“I will be happy if that player becomes both [goalscorer and facilitator],” Slot said.

“‘Facilitator’, nice word, I didn’t know that one yet, and scoring goals himself – that is, again, what we want to achieve in the end.

“But I also saw the penalty (at Bournemouth) from Cody [Gakpo] where Lucho [Luis Diaz] played a part without even touching the ball.

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“He dragged the centre-back out which led to Cody being in a one-vs-one and he made a deep run and got tripped.

“In the end you want attackers and midfielders to score, we’ve spoken about our attacking midfielder as well.

“We need to get goals from many positions, including them and including centre-backs that can score from set-pieces also.

“So, that’s what I just said, we are trying to work on the training ground and with the feedback we give them after the game to make team better and better and better and in the end, the No. 9 should be a facilitator, like a winger, but a winger and a No. 9 should also score goals.”

Now let's ask ourselves a question, who does this describe? Roberto Firmino of course.

Unfortunately, Slot can't just sign the Brazilian again. Even though Firmino is still going strong, having become the first player to win the Champions League and the AFC Champions League this season, Liverpool need to build for the future.

That's why as revealed exclusively by Anfield Watch the club is targeting Julian Alvarez.

Naturally, he's a goal-scorer having scored 27 goals in all competitions already this season. But the Argentine is more than that.

He works tirelessly off the ball and he's facilitator as well.

The numbers back that up. Among forwards in Europe's top five leagues, Alvarez ranks in the 91st percentile for shot-creating-actions, the 88th percentile for progressive passes and the 94th percentile for passes completed as per FBref.

Now, as exclusively revealed by Anfield Watch, Liverpool are a step closer to agreeing a transfer for the Argentine, too.

That's because Atletico Madrid want to sign Darwin Nunez and the Reds are willing to sell him to the Spanish side on a discount in order to pave the way for Alvarez to join Liverpool.

This new development means Liverpool are a step closer to breaking down Atletico's resolve. They are pretty much offering up Alvarez's replacement and trying to come to an agreement on a deal that works for everyone.

There are still more steps to go but an agreement is now undoubtedly closer.

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