Dietmar Hamann has revealed that new Liverpool signing Roberto Firmino is physically stronger than soon-to-be teammate Philippe Coutinho.

There is a lot of buzz surrounding Liverpool's recent signing of Firmino but not many fans in England have seen the 23-year old in action.

Ex-Reds midfielder Hamann has been closely following Firmino in the Bundesliga with Hoffenheim and has stated that the forward is a skillful player who has a physical edge on the supremely gifted Coutinho who was Liverpool's Player of the Year last season.

"Physically, he's stronger than Coutinho and he's more direct. When he travels with the ball, he can beat a player one v one. Coutinho and Adam Lallana like to set things out and bring others into play," Hamann told theLiverpool Echo.

"But Firmino is more direct and he will look to finish himself. He will create chances for others but he will also score goals. He has good pace and can beat a player. Liverpool lacked pace going forward last season.

"He has played some games up front but that was more to do with Hoffenheim not having a centre-forward who was scoring goals regularly. I think he might be more effective out wide for Liverpool. I think he will be more effective than a Coutinho out there.

"Coutinho lights up the middle with his vision. Firmino's strengths are a bit different. His pace is a big asset and on top of that he's very skilful and can finish. He might play some games through the middle but I think out wide will probably be his position."