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Graeme Souness hails £29m Liverpool ace who’s ‘like a big cat walking through the jungle’
Liverpool legend Graeme Souness has praised Reds forward Roberto Firmino, comparing him to Kenny Dalglish and describing him as “like a big cat walking through the jungle waiting for an opportunity to do damage” ().
Firmino, who joined Liverpool from Hoffenheim in 2015 for a reported , has been a key player for the Reds in their rise from an underachieving, largely underwhelming outfit to the all-conquering, swashbuckling beast of today.
Part of the best attacking trident in world football, the Brazilian is often the spearhead of Liverpool’s gegenpress, his movement and off-the-ball work helping to bring the best out of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.
“I love watching Roberto Firmino play,” Souness told . “A couple of years ago, I likened him to Kenny Dalglish. He’s like a big cat walking through the jungle waiting for an opportunity to do damage.
“His radar is on all the time and he’s got a great football brain, whereas Salah and Sadio Mane, they will catch your eye more because they are direct and they score more goals.”
To date, Firmino has made for Liverpool, scoring 77 goals and registering 59 assists.
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Given Firmino’s numbers don’t quite stick out in the same way as those of Salah and Mane, there’ll be neutrals criticising him, but his style of play is a huge part of what’s helped Liverpool go all the way to the top – last year, the Champions League, this year the Premier League.
The likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger, Gary Neville, Kaka and Thierry Henry have all sung Firmino’s praises in the past, and with just how unstoppable the Reds are with him in their ranks, who’s going to dispute that?