Ex Liverpool striker Michael Owen believes that Roberto Firmino needs to increase his work rate to become a talisman for the club. The Brazilian won PFA Player of the Month for January and has been in sparkling form for Liverpool of late, but Owen believes Firmino is still a touch too selective when it comes to working for his team.
“I think he played very well against Manchester City and Chelsea away from home at the beginning of the season, but for a player of his quality, I want to see this kind of performance on a regular basis,” said Owen.
“At the moment he has a good performance in the middle third. He really misses the ball and it does not seem to chase it.” He said. “If I lost a ball during the game, for the next 10 minutes it bothered me a lot.
“I do not see it in Firmino’s game at the moment. He loses the ball and it’s almost like, ‘OK, this is normal,” he added. “He has a lot of quality, but we need to see it more often.” Owen scored 116 goals in 218 games for Liverpool and is now a commentator for BT Sport.
