Roberto Firmino has become a listless Liverpool forward whose £29m fee is suddenly a burden

For £29m, it surely has to be better than this. Roberto Firmino has remarkably gone from firm favourite to apparently infirm in just over a fortnight. Studying his menacing, man-of-the match gait in Liverpool's 4-1 gutting of Manchester City on November 21 compared to his invisible man act in the 2-0 defeat at Newcastle United in the Premier League on Sunday followed by the turgid nature of his output in Thursday's 0-0 draw with FC Sion in the Europa League, one wondered if his body had been taken over by supernatural forces. Or if this was just his doppelgänger.

Not so much spirit possession, just no possession. Or no real spirit when you come to think of it within Roberto’s living shell. As has been asked elsewhere about Roberto's Swiss miss, are you really Bruno Cheyrou in disguise?

Alongside Philippe Coutinho, Firmino was in his element at the Etihad Stadium against City scoring and leading the home side a merry dance, but life does not seem so joyous since those glory days of three weeks ago. Firmino simply resembles a Brazilian who will suit himself when he fancies it. There has been a few of them over the years in British climes, but such a sharp decline is bordering upon remarkable.

Outposts like Newcastle and Sion in the bleak midwinter are not really joints for circus acts, but then neither was the Etihad and he seemed to survive that short jaunt from his new chilly home of Liverpool in England's North West.

In mitigation, £32.5m Christian Benteke was impersonating Mario Balotelli in Geordieland as the reality of Liverpool's Premier League title challenge was rumbled by a Newcastle lot who continue to hover near bottom spot in the table before the home side’s defence realised they were facing a couple of costly impostors.

Everybody is allowed a bad game now and again, but one had to applaud the Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp for sticking by Firmino for the trip to deepest Switzerland a fortnight before Christmas only to be rewarded with a distinctly unseasonal performance. A joyless old affair that was not really up Firmino's street, but when a club has lavished such money and expectations upon your shoulders, the fans are entitled to see you move quicker than rust.

There was a moment after half-time when Firmino completely mis-controlled a pass through the middle, almost like he had just enrolled on an early touches class. At least it let the watching public back home know that he was still on the pitch.

It is interesting that while Firmino, with one goal in 12 outings, was freezing over in Switzerland, the farmed out Lazar Markovic was scoring against Celtic elsewhere in the Europa League as Fenerbahce docked in the last 32 of the competition with a 1-1 draw against the Scottish champions.

Celtic’s defence is as reliable as Daniel Sturridge’s state of fitness, but he still displayed a voracious appetite to impress himself upon the visiting side and wound up piercing the net. Which is a lot more than can be said for Firmino or Benteke unearthing less movement than Statler and Waldorf.

The former Liverpool forward John Aldridge has recently berated Firmino’s contribution against Newcastle, citing an incident when he withdrew from a challenge against Steven McClaren’s team.

“Firmino is playing as if something is wrong, mentally and physically,” said Aldrige in his column with the Liverpool Echo.

“The Brazilian also pulled out of a challenge that was 55-45 in his favour. Liverpool fans won’t accept that. I’ve been going for 50 years and I know it’s unacceptable."

Should Firmino start against West Bromwich on Sunday? Judging by recent ghoulish goings on, the answer has to be a firmino.

Godspeed, Roberto. Reports of your recent demise have not been greatly exaggerated.