After his switch from No 11 to No 9 Firmino had the job of signing the shirts of about 2,000 Liverpool fans this week

Away from the summer’s pantomime intrigue of money-spinning bids and firm rebuttals, there is one Brazilian at Liverpool who is already dovetailing neatly alongside the Barcelona duo of Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez.

Where Philippe Coutinho apparently pines to be involved, Roberto Firmino has prevailed as the new third prong in another eye-catching triumvirate — even if it is only by virtue of his role in a commercial for Adidas which puts him in tandem with the Nou Camp’s foremost attacking luminaries. The tagline of the advert is “football can’t be boring, it needs creators” and, while Firmino fits the bill of non-stop menace when in a Liverpool shirt, there will remain an element of surprise to some that he has been elevated into the