Luis Suarez once told Barcelona to sign Darwin Nunez before Liverpool splashed out on the striker. But the Spanish giants deemed him “too young”, paving the way for a transfer to Benfica and later Anfield.

Nunez has not hit the heights expected since his £85million move from Benfica in 2022, which eclipsed the previous record fee paid by the club for Virgil van Dijk. Now in his third season with the Reds, the team is thriving under Arne Slot, but Nunez is one of the few players yet to really hit his stride for the Premier League leaders.

He has scored just two league goals in the Premier League this season and four in all competitions, with his displays failing to warrant a clear run of games as a starter. And with Nunez being left on the bench during the recent 5-0 win over West Ham, the Uruguayan is now being tentatively linked with a move away in the January transfer window.

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The 25-year-old’s career could have taken an entirely different trajectory had Barcelona listened to his compatriot Suarez - a former Reds icon - during his time with Almeria between 2019 and 2020. Suarez revealed that the Catalan outfit ignored his advice to sign his international team-mate before Nunez’s price-tag skyrocketed.

"I recommended Darwin to Barcelona when he was at Almeria," Suarez revealed in an interview with Gerard Romero prior to Nunez’s Liverpool move. "I have 15 years of international experience. I know a thing or two about forwards. And I told them, ‘pay attention to this one, he’s very good, he shows interesting things’.

"They told me he was at Almeria and that he was too young. But instead of paying now €80m, €90m or €100m, they would’ve paid €15m or €20m and have him there as a substitute."

Things worked out well for the young forward, however, as he signed for Portuguese giants Benfica in 2020, becoming a hit in his second season as he blitzed his way to 34 goals in all competitions. That placed him on the radar of several top European clubs, with Jurgen Klopp’s Reds winning the race for his signature.

Nunez has often been criticised for his lack of sharp finishing in front of goal during his time in the Premier League. He netted nine Premier League goals in his debut season and 11 last term.

He is now midway through his six-year contract, with AC Milan reportedly interested in the striker after it was revealed the striker 'liked' an Instagram post concerning a potential move to the Italian club. According to TEAMtalk, Liverpool have 'identified' two players that they would look to target in the event that Nunez leaves the club - Newcastle’s Alexander Isak and Inter Milan’s Marcus Thuram.

But the Mirror claim it is unlikely that he joins AC Milan unless Liverpool sign a replacement this January. Furthermore, Slot’s recent comments displayed faith in Nunez, having indicated that the striker will keep getting opportunities as long as he works hard when selected.

“Yeah, that’s what we are expecting because we see his quality,” Slot replied when asked if he expects things to eventually click for Nunez. “For me, the fans do have a lot of love for him.

“Maybe, I don’t know, I heard something about social media, maybe he got a bit of criticism but he will probably not be the first player who gets criticism on social media! That is what happens if you miss one or two chances.

“Probably if we had lost the game, then it would be that my substitutions were not good and my line-up were not good… that is what social media is all about! It’s true, isn’t it? If you win, it’s all brilliant, if you lose it’s all s**t! But Darwin has shown already that he is a goalscorer. He is able to do so.”

However, Slot added: “It’s just, in my opinion, it is a matter of time before he starts to score. But he is in competition with Luis Diaz, who can play as a nine as well, and Diogo Jota, who is coming back. This is the challenge he also faces now. It’s not only him not scoring goals, it’s also the challenge of going in competition with a few others. But if he keeps working as hard as he does, then his chances will keep coming.

“Okay, it is clear that with Darwin we would like a few more goals from him, he would like a few more himself, but in every other part of the game I am really happy with him. I fully trust him (Nunez) that the goals will come.”