Liverpool announce signing of Roberto Firmino from Hoffenheim subject to a medical

Liverpool have announced the signing of Roberto Firmino from Bundesliga club Hoffenheim, subject to a medical.

The Reds won the race for the forward amid interest from Manchester United and Manchester City who were rumoured to be considering entering into a bidding war for the player.

It had been previously suggested by talkSPORT that United had agreed a fee in principle for the Brazil international.

The fee, as reported by the Mirror, is expected to be in the range of £28m ($44m), making Firmino the second most expensive transfer in Liverpool history after Andy Carroll in 2012.

Firmino has established himself as a regular in the Brazil first team under Dunga, where he has made nine caps thus far in all competitions, scoring four goals in the process. He was also Bundesliga's second most prolific creator over the last two seasons, making 21 assists, superseded only by Kevin de Bruyne with 26.

In his 151 appearances with Hoffenheim, he has scored 47 goals and has the potential to emulate what Luis Suarez managed in his final year with the Reds. The player is currently with his national team in the Copa America, where they have progressed into the quarter finals as group toppers.

Liverpool's official website reveals that the medical will take place immediately after he returns from the Copa, which ends on 4 July, subject to Brazil qualifying for the finals.

He will be accompanied back home by teammate Philippe Coutinho, who with his impressive performances last season made it into the Brazil team and also the PFA Team of the Year.

This is Liverpool's fifth transfer of the summer, having completed deals for James Milner from City, Danny Ings from Burnley, Joe Gomez from Charlton and Adam Bogdan from Bolton Wanderers.

Brendan Rodgers will be hoping that they can fill the void left by the departure of Steven Gerrard and the impending transfer of Raheem Sterling, who is being heavily monitored by the Citizens, having already had a bid rejected by the Reds.