Liverpool transfer priority should remain clear as Darwin Nunez decision looms
Liverpool could only draw with Nottingham Forest but Arne Slot's men remain in a good position in the Premier League table. And, of course, the January transfer window is open.
Every week, we'll be answering your Liverpool FC questions. Whether they come in on X, email, Facebook, YouTube or elsewhere, we'll pick three each week to go through, with the title race and the transfer market both on the agenda this week.
Q) Will Liverpool sign anyone? Injuries tend to pile up after the festive period.
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A) For me, there is only one priority to be resolved unless someone leaves: some holding midfield cover for Ryan Gravenberch. You can never rule out signings because Liverpool operates "opportunistically", meaning that if something worth doing came up at the right price, I'm sure it would move — just like it has with the likes of Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz in the recent past.
There won't be any movement for the sake of it, though, and there are a couple of positions that probably would need someone to move on before another body could be brought in. At left-back, for example, I can definitely see the case for signing someone. But for that to happen you would surely need to sell either Andy Robertson or Kostas Tsimikas to free up space.
In 2025, I'd probably sign a left-back, a holding midfielder and a number nine. Like at full-back, though, someone would need to leave before the attack could be strengthened. There is interest from Saudi Arabia in Darwin Nunez, but let's not forget that he would have to be interested too for that to happen. That could be the case, but isn't certain.
As for injuries, Liverpool has done pretty well on that front so far. The main absences have been players who always get issues or knocks — Alisson Becker and Diogo Jota. Losing Gravenberch for a period would be a concern but Arne Slot has done brilliantly at keeping as many players as possible fresh lately.
Q) I like Darwin Nunez's work rate but if he is still struggling after this season, would you move him on?
A) Nunez is well over two years into his Liverpool career and for most of that time, I've been hoping that it would click for him. For that to happen, though, he would A) need a sustained run in the team and B) need to take that chance. I'm not convinced on either of those points at this moment in time.
Even when he has had a big moment in a Liverpool shirt, it hasn't seen him shift gears and put together a run. They tend to be one-off events, which makes me think it isn't going to suddenly "click". If it was going to, it probably would have already.
If Liverpool could get a good bid in for him and replace him with someone both more reliable and more suited to the way that Slot wants his number nine to play, that would make sense. I could easily see him scoring 30 goals for a Serie A side or banging them in for a Spanish or Portuguese club. At Liverpool, though, it's tricky to make that argument so far into his time at Anfield.
Q) How do you assess the Premier League title race? Is Arsenal now Liverpool's only threat?
A) Even after dropping a couple of points against Nottingham Forest, Liverpool is in a good position. Whatever result Arsenal gets later today, the Gunners are still playing catch-up.
Ultimately, Liverpool would have to drop off a lot and Arsenal would have to go on a winning run it has not really shown signs of being able to put together for the two sides to swap over in the table. One of those things might happen but the chances of both of them happening seem slim.
It is far from over, of course, and Liverpool is in something of a blip at the moment. But Nottingham Forest away was always going to be tricky, especially under the lights. I'm still backing Liverpool from here.
