Liverpool are open to selling Roberto Firmino amid interest from Saudi Arabia, claims Luke Edwards.

The Lowdown: Firmino situation

Firmino’s time at Anfield could be set to come to an end soon with the 31-year-old’s contract set expiring at the end of the season and no agreement upon an extension has been reached.

The Daily Mail reported on Thursday that the Premier League winner has admirers in Saudi Arabia although it’s thought at this stage he’d prefer to sign a new deal with talks from the Gulf State not advanced.

Firmino has enjoyed a successful campaign back in Jurgen Klopp’s starting 11 where he’s featured 11 times out of the 13 he’s played in the Premier League.

The Latest: Edwards’ comments

With the interest from Saudi coming at the same time as the Brazilian’s contract is set to expire, The Daily Telegraph’s Edwards told the Transfer Gossip Daily that it’s all too convenient to potentially carry much weight.

“I think this is a classic ploy of player in contract talks, seeing another high profile football player go to Saudi Arabia for ridiculous money, let’s just throw the name in there.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Liverpool let Firmino go, I’m going to put that out there now because I think they’ve got a bit of a problem with an ageing squad at the moment.

“Do they really want another striker in his 30s tied down to a long-term deal eating up money out of their wage budget?

“So I think this is more of a negotiation ploy and if he wants to go to Saudi Arabia, nobody goes there for other reasons than money.”

The Verdict: On the move?

Despite a resurgence this season that’s seen him bag seven goals and three assists in just league 13 games this season, compared to five goals and four assists last campaign, it still seems as though Firmino’s days are numbered.

Liverpool have recently signed Cody Gakpo and have both Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz to welcome back to an attacking line-up that currently boasts Mo Salah and Darwin Nunez, leaving the Brazilian at a loss when everyone’s fit.

The Reds’ squad an ageing one with nine players currently aged 30 or older, Jurgen Klopp will want to refresh his attacking options which he has done with Gakpo.

The 31-year-old’s chances look severely limited at Liverpool when everyone’s fit and firing and the links to Saudi Arabia do look a desperate ploy from his agent to persuade the Reds to change their mind, but if the links are true, there’s no way Liverpool will match the numbers on a proposed contract.