Firmino out to keep improving at LFC
Roberto Firmino has vowed to do all he can to keep improving following his move to Liverpool in order to help bring more success to the club.
The Reds announced last month that a deal has been agreed for the Brazil international, who will join his new teammates in training after an extended break earned through his Copa America exploits this summer.
Firmino makes the move to the Premier League after five seasons spent with German outfit Hoffenheim, for whom he scored 49 goals in 153 appearances.
But the 23-year-old views his switch to Anfield as the start of a fresh challenge, rather than an indication that he can rest on his laurels.
"First and foremost, I’m looking forward to the new challenge and I’m excited to see what the Premier League has to offer," he told Hoffenheim's official website.
"Of course everything will once again be new to me at the start. I’m going to have to get used to a new playing style, but I’ll also get the opportunity to improve my game even further there.
"Obviously I’d like to establish myself as a starter in my new team and go on to celebrate a lot of success at Liverpool.”
Firmino's spell with Hoffenheim saw him named as the Breakthrough of the Season for the 2013-14 Bundesliga campaign, and earn a maiden Brazil cap last year.
As a result, the former Figueirense starlet is keen to thank the Sinsheim club for giving him the opportunity to flourish.
"I was only 19 when I came to Hoffenheim," he continued.
"Everything was new to me - a strange country, a foreign language. That was not easy at the beginning. Europe was a big adventure to me and of course I had my doubts.
"I developed as a player and as a person. By working hard at Hoffenheim, I made it into the Selecao [Brazilian national team]. That is a dream come true to me and I know who I owe gratitude to.
"A lot of people believed in me during times when things did not go perfectly. I will keep my time at Hoffenheim and the people I met here in my heart forever."