Erling Haaland reality, Santiago Gimenez repeat - Liverpool get clear Darwin Nunez transfer verdict

Liverpool's preparations for the 2024/25 season may have yet to begin but that won't have stopped Kopites from wondering if it will be third time lucky for Darwin Nunez.

The 2023/24 campaign was one of mixed fortunes for the 24-year-old Uruguyan, who provided over 30 goal contributions across all competitions as Liverpool won the Carabao Cup and fell just short in their quest for Premier League, Europa League and FA Cup glory.

But that Nunez scored just two goals in his final 12 Premier League appearances of the season and subsequently fell behind Cody Gakpo in the pecking order as the Reds failed to keep pace with Manchester City and Arsenal, though, has raised fresh concerns about the forward's future at Anfield.

Here, ECHO writers have their say on the Uruguayan.

Keifer MacDonald

Revisionism is not a new concept in sport but that won't stop Darwin Nunez from wondering how many - if any - Liverpool players have had their Anfield careers scrutinised as extensively as his.

From the moment his Liverpool career began with a game-clinching goal against Manchester City in the 2022 Community Shield, the Uruguayan has been unfairly compared to his counterpart Erling Haaland and his success with the Etihad Stadium outfit.

Of course, Nunez is nowhere near as clinical as the Norwegian - who has scored 63 goals in 66 Premier League games - but then again who is world football, aside from Kylian Mbappe?

The truth is that Nunez has made positive strides at Anfield over the last two years and had Liverpool on course for a successful end to the Jurgen Klopp era before a collective slump after the March international break saw their hopes of adding to their earlier League Cup success ended.

Ahead of his third campaign at Anfield, though, the former Benfica man is averaging a goal contribution every 108 minutes for the Reds and has significantly improved his off-the-ball efforts.

Sure, some would expect a greater return on the £64m the Reds parted with two years ago. But the reality is that if they were to part ways with the Uruguayan this summer then they would receive a paltry return on the investment that has the potential to make him the most expensive signing in the club's history.

Liverpool have gone through a difficult teething process with Nunez, meaning that suggestions that now could be the perfect time to cut their losses on Nunez is a bonkers theory that needs to be binned.

Isaac Johnson

Michael Owen told me that he doesn’t believe this is Nunez’s final season to prove himself at Anfield but equally fears that he might not turn into the prolific scorer many hope he will. There is no question the spotlight is on the attacker this year.

The forward turns 25 next week and soon the phrase ‘raw’ will be replaced with ‘wasteful’ if he continues to squander crunch chances. It must be underlined that he did score 18 goals and record 13 assists last season - so he is absolutely not a liability and is certainly an asset.

However, just one of his goals came after March and after missing a host of must-score opportunities during the crucial run-in period, he was benched for the final four Premier League matches.

Encouragingly, Nunez has netted eight goals in seven Uruguay caps under Marcelo Bielsa and this summer’s Copa America could instil confidence back into the attacker. The time to really judge him, though, will be in the second half of next season under a new manager.

Liverpool fans are as patient as saints with their players and Nunez is a much-loved character. But if, as Owen says, this is his ceiling, then at the very least a conversation around an exit next summer is likely.

Oliver Jones

Amid the social media songs and the hitting-the-woodwork-statistics, it's been a tough start for Darwin Nunez at Liverpool and now more than ever will the spotlight be beaming onto him this season.

Yes, I think when Liverpool bought him for £64 million, they were hoping for a more complete striker rather than a still-raw 25-year-old with two campaigns under his belt but there's no denying his talents. 18 goals last season helped keep the Reds in the title race until a tricky period which saw him score just twice in their last 12 league games.

But the truth is he has improved month-by-month under Klopp, and it remains to be seen whether he can become more clinical under Slot. If supporters are really suggesting that now is the right time to cut him off, then they're not able to see what they truly possess.

If they want him to be their version of Erling Haaland - something every team in the Premier League is trying to replicate at the moment - then time will be his best friend.

Matt Abbott

Arne Slot has relied on a broad-shouldered, 6ft-plus, South American-born striker for goals over the last two seasons at Feyenoord. Sound familiar?

Santiago Gimenez scored 49 goals in 86 games for the Dutch club in two years with Slot. The Mexico international had more goals in his debut campaign under the new Liverpool head coach than in his previous 105 matches for former club Cruz Azul.

His first year in Rotterdam began slowly, scoring just two league goals before the winter break after arriving in late July. But after a winter break working with Slot, Gimenez scored another 13, including goals in eight consecutive Eredivisie games. While the Copa America will deny Nunez a full pre-season, the new head coach should relish the chance to work with him.

Moving on from the Uruguay international before even seeing the striker in Slot's system is a decision the club would regret, especially considering they do not need to cash in at this juncture. The Reds are unlikely to receive anything close to what they value Nunez at this summer after how last season ended, so they should not and will not sell for the sake of it.