Liverpool have already given £50m answer when it comes to Roberto Firmino future

It was an attacking triumvirate that proved the scourge of every defence in the Premier League.

A deadly trio that ran amok against the best teams in Europe.

A triad that ensured Liverpool became conquerors of not only the continent - but the world.

End of an era

Sadio Mane, Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino are firmly etched into Anfield folklore.

They were akin to Red Arrows at their ferocious best. Plundering a combined 338 goals and 155 assists, Liverpool returned to the apogee of football - winning every trophy possible in the five years they played together under Jurgen Klopp.

However, with Mane's departure to Bayern Munich, that chapter is firmly over.

And reports have suggested this summer that the trio could be dismantled further.

Although his future was once precarious, Salah put paid to any talk of leaving by signing a bumper new deal until 2025.

It's Firmino who's now been linked with an exit.

Firmino links

The Brazilian is supposedly the subject of a €23 million offer from Juventus and Liverpool are considering whether to accept.

Firmino was the silent assassin of the three. His game was - and still is - more about guile and craft rather than a regular goal-getter.

Yet with Darwin Nunez arriving for what could become a club-record £85 million from Benfica, coupled with Diogo Jota's rapid improvement, talk has been made about Firmino's waning influence.

After Luis Diaz signed in January, many rendered Firmino fifth-choice forward. When Nunez signed, he remained in that position.

With less than a year left on his deal, some may feel it would be prudent to cash in on Firmino this summer.

Better that than potentially losing him on a free - especially following a season in which he started just 10 Premier League games and managed only 11 goals in 35 outings.

But, in truth, selling Firmino will be a stark contrast to what Klopp has planned.

Granted, Firmino is not the cast-iron regular he once was. No longer is his name a formality on the team sheet.

Early pre-season impression

Yet the formative stages of pre-season have underlined Firmino’s value to the team.

While last term was frustrating and sprinkled with setbacks, the 30-year-old has undoubtedly benefitted from a lengthy break.

Firmino wasn't called up for Brazil duty in June so had five solid weeks to recuperate.

That’s why it’s no wonder that Firmino has started all three friendlies so far - and looked sharp. His nimble movement has returned, his deft ball control again impressing - as displayed when assisting Salah's opening goal against RB Leipzig.

And while Nunez is eventually expected to be first-choice striker, a period of adaptation - like an array of Klopp signings before him - is required.

The Uruguayan may have scored four goals against Leipzig but he's still acclimatising. It’d be erroneous to think everything has already clicked.

What's more, Jota is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury - and there is doubt around whether he'll be fit for the curtain-raiser against Fulham on Saturday 6 August.

Plenty of supporters, at this stage, will expect Firmino to spearhead the attack at Craven Cottage.

And when it comes to strength in depth, Klopp wouldn't want to deplete his options

A key reason why Liverpool went agonisingly close to an unprecedented quadruple last term was their quality in attack.

During his previous six years in the hot seat, Klopp never had quality at the top end of the pitch like it.

Yet Salah, Jota, Mane, Firmino and Diaz were an embarrassment of riches to select from.

Now the German has had a taste of what it's like, he will baulk at the thought of having limited resources in the final third once again.

Already in the transfer market, Liverpool have made up to £50 million from the sales of Mane and Takumi Minamino. They've retrieved a significant portion of the Nunez fee.

Fabio Carvalho and Harvey Elliott are both fascinating prospects with burgeoning potential. The teenage duo have arguably been the standouts in pre-season so far.

But never underestimate the commodity of experience. Firmino's got a substantial role to play.