It was recently revealed that Liverpool centre-forward Roberto Firmino will be leaving the club upon the expiry of his contract at the end of the season.
The Brazil international will depart on a free transfer, after eight years at Anfield, and is set to leave after many seasons of exceptional service at the top end of the pitch.
Since joining in 2015, the attacker has plundered 108 goals and 79 assists in 354 matches in all competitions for the Reds – including 79 goals and 55 assists in 249 Premier League outings.
The 31-year-old, who has hit double figures for goals in four league campaigns, has been a regular contributor in the final third and has been rolling back the years with a stunning eight goals and four assists in 11 top-flight starts so far this season.
Who could replace Roberto Firmino at Liverpool?
Whilst the likes of Cody Gakpo, who has scored four goals in seven Premier League starts, and Darwin Nunez, who has eight in 15, have come in this season to potentially take over as regular starters in the front three, Liverpool may need to replace Firmino as a squad player in the summer.
The Brazilian has come on as a substitute in seven league matches this season and Jurgen Klopp could find the heir to the dynamo’s position in the side by unearthing U21 marksman Layton Stewart.
In the Premier League 2 this season, the youngster has produced an eye-catching eight goals and one assists in ten appearances – also scoring once in three EFL Trophy outings.
The 20-year-old, whose development was stunted by missing 48 matches with a knee injury between 2021 and 2022, made the jump to the U21s after enjoying an incredibly prolific spell with the U18s – scoring 26 goals and providing five assists in 22 league games from 2019/20 to 2020/21, which shows that the talent has the quality – like Firmino – to both score and assist goals for his side.
Academy coach Barry Lewtas recently hailed the former England U18 international as a “real threat” and the striker’s sensational statistics at U18 and U21 level back that up.
Stewart started the EFL Cup win over Derby County earlier this season and this suggests that Klopp already has faith in the youngster as the German coach was willing to name him in a first-team XI alongside the likes of Joe Gomez, Nat Phillips, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberain.
The Liverpool boss must now offer the prolific youngster, who has scored an impressive 42 goals and assisted seven in 55 youth appearances for the club, an opportunity to stake a claim for a place in the senior squad after Firmino’s departure this summer.
Pre-season could be a huge chance for the talented marksman to show his worth and prove that he can translate his stunning form at youth level over to the first team. If Stewart can do that then Klopp may already have his dream heir to the Brazilian attacker, without having to dip into the transfer market.