Liverpool are making headway under Arne Slot but some old habits die hard. Darwin Nunez, for example, is struggling to shake his inconsistency and runs the risk of ostracising himself from the starting XI, for Diogo Jota is the nailed-on focal frontman at the moment.
And that’s concerning. Nunez joined Liverpool from Benfica in a deal rising to a club-record £85m in 2022, but he has only started one Premier League match this season as he plays second fiddle.
The Uruguay international is now in his third season and should be enjoying a role of greater significance. He’s only scored 21 goals from 69 matches in the English top flight and has missed a whopping 47 big chances in that timeframe, as per Sofascore.
The injury-prone Jota has only scored 19 Premier League goals across the same period, albeit featuring far more infrequently and missing just 18 big chances besides. There’s a stark polarity in composure and precision when it comes to those key moments, with Nunez failing to effectively promote his quality against that of his peers.
Mohamed Salah
10 (9)
6
5
Luis Diaz
9 (7)
5
1
Diogo Jota
9 (8)
4
2
Cody Gakpo
10 (3)
2
2
Darwin Nunez
7 (3)
1
1
Federico Chiesa
3 (1)
0
1
Should the 25-year-old fail to bring it all together, there’s a real chance he will find himself sold. Slot takes no prisoners and Liverpool are fielding interest from some European heavyweights.
Liverpool transfer news
According to Spanish sources from last month, Atletico Madrid are considering moving for Nunez to replace Antoine Griezmann, with the 33-year-old currently in the penultimate year of his contract.
Nunez might be wasteful in front of goal but he is immensely talented and fiercely aggressive in his attacking efforts, and Liverpool have thus made it clear that bids must total €70m (£59m) for his departure to be considered.
Barcelona are also admirers: Robert Lewandowski is still one of the best strikers in the world, but he’s 36 and a success plan is being considered.
Should all this fall into place, Liverpool should move for Florian Wirtz, who might not be a like-for-like replacement but would certainly inject some world-class quality into Slot’s already excellent frontline.
How Florian Wirtz would fit in at Liverpool
Wirtz is one of the hottest talents on the globe, winning the German Bundesliga Player of the Season last year as he supercharged Bayer Leverkusen’s invincible and title-winning campaign, ending Bayern Munich’s 11-year dynasty.
According to a report from Caught Offside only a few weeks ago, Liverpool are hot on his trail and will look to pounce if the opportunity to sign the German arises, though Xabi Alonso’s outfit will demand a fee in excess of £80m to part ways with their linchpin.
He’s quite the player. The 21-year-old has already suffered a long-term injury in his fledgling career but was simply breathtaking in his performances last term, scoring 18 goals and supplying 20 assists across 49 matches in all competitions, also winning the DFB-Pokal, which is the German equivalent of the FA Cup.
This season, the versatile attacking midfielder – who can also perform at centre-forward – has started with renewed prolificness, scoring four goals across his opening six Bundesliga appearances, also averaging 3.2 key passes, three dribbles and 5.7 successful duels per fixture.
With Player of the Match awards in each of Leverkusen’s opening Champions League games of the season – his first foray into the competition – Wirtz’s star factor has been underscored.
It’s no surprise that fans and critics alike have rhapsodised over his performances. Talent scout Jacek Kulig, for example, has hailed him as a “little genius”.
What a footballer. Wirtz is seemingly tailor-made for a career in the Premier League, for he carries some of the finest traits of both Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden, two of the division’s finest.
A Foden & Saka hybrid
Football fans are fickle. Foden has taken shots on various online platforms of late after starting the 2024/25 campaign slowly, but there’s little question that this man carries one of English football’s most talented skillsets.
After all, did he not win the Premier League Player of the Year award for 2023/24, scoring 19 goals and clinching his sixth title? Is he not the most balletic and brilliant of players, capable of hurting opponents in many ways?
And Saka. A player to marvel over. He’s exuded pure playmaking excellence across the opening months of the current term, supercharging Mikel Arteta’s third shot at the Premier League title. With three goals and seven assists from ten matches in all competitions, his influence is truly nonpareil.
Wrap them into one, why don’t you, Arne? Wirtz will gift Liverpool some of the best attributes of both stars, will complete the Reds’ frontline with the most prodigious of players.
FBref’s comprehensive statistical database has crunched the numbers and communicated that Foden and Saka are both players of a similar likeness to the German international, whose breezy gait, incisive shooting and creative spark present him to be a sort of hybrid of the two talents.
Goals scored
0.47
0.66
0.34
Assists made
0.36
0.26
0.39
Shots taken
2.87
3.63
3.13
Shot-creating actions
6.69
4.68
5.91
Passes completed
82.5%
86.2%
75.8%
Progressive passes
8.42
5.57
3.89
Progressive carries
5.77
2.88
4.63
Successful take-ons
2.79
1.31
1.50
Ball recoveries
5.41
3.83
4.61
Saka might be a little bit more productive with his playmaking, and Foden, for sure, is the most natural goalscorer of the three, but Wirtz far outstrips both in regard to the bulk of the underlying metrics.
He’d be a credit to Liverpool’s first team, perhaps the catalyst for illustrious success under Slot’s wing. He wouldn’t quite be a direct replacement for a star such as Nunez, but if Liverpool were to lose their mercurial striker, this would be the marquee transfer to maintain and perhaps even raise the capacity of the club’s attacking line.
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