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BY OLIVER BOND

Roberto Firmino links up with his new team-mates today as Liverpool report back to Melwood ahead of their latest pre-season game in Helsinki on Saturday.

The 23-year-old became Liverpool’s sixth summer signing earlier this summer when snared from Hoffenheim for a fee in the region of £29million.

But what can his new team-mates expect from the Brazilian?

Style of football

The 23-year-old is a highly versatile forward, and can play anywhere across the front three – including down the middle.

His flexibility, displayed at Hoffenheim and for Brazil, is something that would suit Brendan Rodgers’ fluid attacking formation.

Firmino has developed into a devastating goalscoring midfielder, with his dribbling one of his best assets.

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His quickness and intelligence in his movement will be vital for a side with a swift, incisive attack, and given his heritage he should be the ideal spark for Rodgers’ new-look Liverpool.

Firmino averaged 4.3 successful dribbles per 90 minutes last season, with only four Premier League players making more.

He also created 2.1 chances per 90 minutes in the Bundesliga, only bettered by Raheem Sterling last year.

Tricky and hard-working

Former Red Ryan Babel, who played alongside Firmino during his time at Hoffenheim, has described the Brazilian as a player who can bring ‘joy’ to Liverpool supporters.

“He is a tricky player,” says Babel. “He can dribble, shoot, he has a great shot, he can play a lot of through balls and his assists are very good.

“He’s the kind of player that likes the ball at his feet and to do nice things with it, but something he learned in Germany was how to work without the ball and defend.

“I know how important that is in England, what you do without the ball. It was something he had to learn in Germany.

“He is actually also great at heading, which maybe you wouldn’t think because he’s not that tall, but he’s very good at it.”

If there’s one thing we’ve learned about Rodgers’ sides it’s that he wants them to press high up the pitch, and to be just as aggressive without the ball as they would be with it.

He wants hard-working talents, players who boast high work-rates yet also possess the quality to unlock defences and scores goals, and there are definite hallmarks of Firmino’s game that align with Rodgers’ vision.

The Brazilian averaged 2.7 tackles per 90 minutes last term, only six Premier League forwards made more, and his ability to close down opponents in attacking areas while remaining bullish enough to dominate defenders will be an invaluable asset.

Where could he fit in?

With all the injury problems Daniel Sturridge encountered last season, the fact Firmino featured in 33 of Hoffenheim’s 34 league fixtures in each of the last three seasons should offer Rodgers some reassurance.

This means the 23-year-old should be available more often than not, so where could we see him being deployed?

When Rodgers first came into Liverpool, he wanted to implement a 4-3-3 system, and over the course of the pre-season tour, we’ve seen the system being used once again.

Firmino could take up a wide left or wide right role, with one of Jordon Ibe, Lazar Markovic or Adam Lallana operating on the opposite side, but he could also be deployed as a false nine, a job he’s shown he can do with Brazil.

In a 4-2-3-1, the Brazilian could also be used as a number 10, in behind either Daniel Sturridge or Christian Benteke, or if Rodgers decides to go with the 4-4-2 diamond formation, a system which proved so effective two years ago, Firmino could be utilised at the tip of the diamond, much like Raheem Sterling in 2014.

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Perhaps most effectively, if Rodgers decides to revert back to 3-4-2-1, a system which proved so successful over the turn of the year, Firmino and Coutinho could be deployed together in tandem, with the duo combining behind the striker.

Firmino became Liverpool’s third most expensive signing of all time earlier this summer, and although he will need time to settle and adapt to his new surroundings, his stats show there is every reason to believe he can make the transition and pay the Reds back on the pitch.