Liverpool have been slipping in the Premier League title race and were recently humbled by Atalanta in the Europa League, getting sent packing from the competition in the quarterfinals.
To add further insult, Liverpool lost to derby rivals Everton on Wednesday, falling 2-0 to one of the five worst teams in the Premier League. Now, the Reds are third in the title race, three points back of league leaders Arsenal and two behind usual title rivals (and champions) Manchester City.
Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez drew the ire of fans for a woefully disappointing display in Everton’s clean sheet victory over the Reds. The former Benfica star did create a couple of chances, but he offered no attacking threat and enraged Kopites by missing a clear-cut chance.
Nunez has been criticized since stepping foot at Anfield for not being good enough in front of goal. His supporters point out that Nunez is a great athlete who can create havoc with his movement, but Liverpool already have plenty of players who can do this. They aren’t hard to find, especially on the wings – players like another former Portuguese league standout, Luis Diaz.
Liverpool paid 75 million euros for Darwin Nunez from Benfica so that he could be a true goal-scoring striker. They (over)paid for Nunez in the hopes he could bring 20 goals in a season for them.
Jurgen Klopp was at the forefront of the Nunez signing, and now that he is stepping down from Liverpool at the end of the 2023/24 season, there are serious doubts regarding the 24-year-old’s future at Anfield.
The Telegraph’s Chris Bascombe reports Jurgen Klopp is Darwin Nunez’s biggest ally in the building, and that returning executive Michael Edwards could take a different view of the Uruguayan’s future in Liverpool. Nunez’s future is very much up in the air.
Signing a top striker to replace Nunez will come at a price, but there are options out there for Liverpool, such as Stuttgart breakout star Serhou Guirassy. He may be a few years older, but he has scored more than double the number of goals (25 to 11).
Darwin Nunez has eight assists on the 2023/24 season, and his skill on the ball and chance-creation cannot be doubted. The problem is, Liverpool have Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, Alexis Mac Allister, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dominik Szoboszlai, and still more who are good creators.
They need a top scorer. Without Klopp backing him, Nunez could be one decent transfer offer away from playing for a new club in 2024/25.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He has been an editor for NFL Spin Zone, Daily DDT for pro wrestling, Autzen Zoo covering the Oregon Ducks, Musket Fire covering the New England Patriots, The Real Champs covering Real Madrid, Old Juve covering Juventus, Rush The Kop covering Liverpool, and Release The Knappen covering Schalke. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.