Liverpool’s new Roberto Firmino has emerged, a world-class talent | OneFootball

Liverpool have waited a long time to land a perfect Brazil star. He's right there to be signed, though.

Liverpool need a new attacking player and, ideally, a left-footed one. The Reds only actually had one of those last season and he left, taking his record-breaking numbers with him.

Now, Mohamed Salah doesn't necessarily need replacing like-for-like. For one, the market on the right wing is absolutely horrendous right now and Liverpool stand no real chance of finding a like-for-like replacement, let alone signing one.

But still, just as a standard angle-of-attack point of view, Liverpool should find someone who can attack from that flank. They currently have absolutely no one.

There is a very, very interesting option, though, in Endrick. The Brazilian forward has no place at Real Madrid and they've just signed Carlos Espi - an incredibly talented, and completely different, striker from Levante.

Endrick, then, is expected to depart somewhere. It's easy to imagine that's on loan but perhaps a sale is on the cards for the right money. And I think Liverpool should probably pay that money.

Liverpool first looked into signing Endrick over four years ago, back when he was generating a lot of hype as the next big thing out of Brazilian football. Unfortunately, when you're 'the next big thing out of Brazilian football', your price shoots up wildly and Real Madrid eventually paid €70m for him in late 2022.

Endrick would join them once he turned 18 in 2024 and things immediately became difficult. This is a player who had 18 goals in 31 Brazilian top flight games as a 17-year-old. He had six in six before moving to Real Madrid as an 18-year-old.

But two and a half years on, the forward has a grand total of 375 La Liga minutes under his belt. Those have brought three starts and one goal.

It led to a loan with Lyon last season that was far more productive: 1200 minutes, five goals and seven assists. And that's where we begin the sales pitch.

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Endrick vs The World

Endrick's 'obvious' numbers were good last season. Five goals and seven assists are solid and he played a significant role for Lyon.

But there's maybe a bit of a misconception about what he is. A Brazilian centre-forward is a player type that brings about Ronaldo, Romario comparisons still but Liverpool fans should think about their own Brazilian centre-forward here.

Because what Endrick does is far more Roberto Firmino than anything else. In fact, he's incredibly Roberto Firmino.

Of centre-forwards across Europe's top five leagues last season - who have played at least 900 minutes (Endrick played 1200) - only Ousmane Dembele created more chances per 90 minutes. When only considering 'big chances created', it's just Dembele and Iago Aspas.

But he's also a striker - you want him getting shots on goal. Well, the company Endrick kept last season as a chance-creating centre-forward who gets shots on target is truly elite.

© IMAGO

So let's continue down the Firmino path. Endrick not only creates chances and gets shots off but he's also someone who creates his own chances with dribbles.

The only centre-forward in Europe's top five leagues to average more successful dribbles last season was Kylian Mbappe. In fact, the pair of them are on an island positionally for creating chances and completing dribbles.

It's something Endrick wants to constantly do and importantly, something Liverpool lacked last season. The then-19-year-old looks to create off of dribbles and it makes him an incredibly interesting threat.

Below we've got Endrick's 'dribble ratio' - in other words, how often his 'final actions' come after a dribble - compared to the big chances he created for Lyon.

© IMAGO

I don't think Liverpool will find a better left-footed attacker this summer if Real Madrid are willing to let Endrick go. What he did last season has flown under the radar.

Our model has him providing very similar value per 90 minutes to Eli Kroupi, another 19-year-old who thrived last season. Only whereas Kroupi is an out-and-out goalscorer, Endrick is a creator first who can also provide goals.

That might well mean that he's got the better development path here as a more well-rounded player. And one who be it through the middle or from the right, appears to tick the boxes Liverpool are chasing.

Kroupi has been linked with €100m moves to Paris Saint-Germain. Endrick has been linked with loan moves and talk of needing to get his career back on track.

But there's a bargain for Liverpool there. One they shouldn't miss.