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The former Anfield leader believes a failing Brazilian forward needs someone to “breathe through his neck” to rediscover the missing spark.
Roberto Firmino’s struggles in front of goal should bring Liverpool back to the transfer market in search of another striker, says John Aldridge, and the former Reds forward thinks Timo Werner should have been the target.
Jurgen Klopp was strongly linked to the Germany international heading to the last window, but ended up moving on to English football at Chelsea.
Premier League champions Liverpool have yet to bolster their attacking ranks, and Greek left-back Kostas Tsimikas is the only player to have been added to Klopp’s squad since the first top flight crown was closed in 30 years.
Aldridge believes more firepower is required at Anfield, and Firmino, who has only scored one league goal at Anfield in 18 months, needs “someone to breathe down his neck” to rediscover a missing spark.
“Bobby Firmino still seems to have the shackles around him,” former Reds leader Aldridge told the Echo of Liverpool after witnessing another goalless performance by the Brazilian against Leeds.
“He got involved in midfield and showed some nice touches but then again in the Anfield area it wasn’t happening to him.
“He lost a good opportunity in the second half after a great bond with his attacking partners and obviously we all remember how it took him until the last home game last season to score a league goal at Anfield.
“I don’t know if that’s still on his mind because he didn’t see himself in the box.
“There has been a lot of talk about Liverpool’s stance in the transfer market this summer, but I can’t help but feel that Bobby would do well if he had someone breathing down his neck for his place so he knows he has to score goals.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of his and he does great things for the three forwards that often go unnoticed, but if you’re number nine, you have to score goals.
That’s the bottom line and he knows it. He hasn’t been doing that at Anfield for the last year and he has to change.
“I understand the general position of the club on transfers this summer, but it is a bit risky in a couple of positions because we have been relatively lucky with injuries in recent seasons, but that cannot always be trusted.
“The transfers themselves are also kind of a gamble for Liverpool as it is difficult to improve on what we have and also to convince players to sign that they know they will probably not be the first choice. But I still think we could use another scorer.
“In an ideal world, the fans would have loved to see us sign Timo Werner or someone like that, but it wasn’t possible.
“Renewing the team, even if it’s just one player, keeps everyone on their toes and increases competition for places.”
Liverpool are still weighing their options in the transfer market, but few forwards see moves to Merseyside being considered as Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcántara remains the Reds’ main target.
