Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes has massive decisions to make next summer. While the focus will be on incoming signings, decisions will be required on the future of several players in the squad. The club will have to make some tough calls to ensure that Arne Slot has a good squad before the start of the 2025/26 season.
Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold combined on Wednesday night to help Liverpool come back from 2-1 down to 3-2 before Newcastle United scored a late equaliser to make it 3-3 at St. James’ Park.
The 32-year-old forward’s two goals and Alexander-Arnold’s two assists showed that Liverpool need to ensure they are tied down on new contracts as soon as possible. The club can’t just afford to lose their impact from the team.
However, their performances managed to hide one player who again misfired and is now on borrowed time on Merseyside with many suggesting that he could be moved on next summer.
Darwin Nunez had another frustrating night when he again fluffed in lines and missed a couple of chances to score. The Uruguayan has started just six league games this season and it seems clear that he has yet to win the trust of Slot.
He has scored just twice in the Premier League this season and has again missed guilt-edged opportunities in front of goal. The forward has again shown why Liverpool are missing a consistent number 9 upfront.
Can the Reds continue to indulge Nunez?
Nunez was signed for massive money but has he done enough to justify his price tag? The straight answer is no. Nunez needs too many chances to score goals and Liverpool have suffered.
Salah has continued to produce the goods and has been more than willing to rescue the team when needed. However, Liverpool have needed the talisman to keep that form going because Nunez has failed to step up.
For the money Liverpool paid for him, they should be expecting the striker to come to the fore and score the goals when the team need him the most.
36 goals in 114 appearances is not good enough for a Liverpool number 9 and the club know that and it is one of the reasons the Reds are looking at strikers across Europe.
Can you name the team Liverpool sold these players to?
If Liverpool want to sign a striker they need to offload Nunez as the club can’t afford to have two expensive number 9s in the squad. That’s not how the Reds operate.
Jamie Carragher has claimed that it seems likely that the Uruguayan will move on from Anfield in the summer.
He said on the Overlap: “I’m not sure he’s here next year, I think he’ll probably move on.
“He’s more like a cult hero because he’s a bit mad and he likes to run around, but he’s better than [Divock] Origi.”
However, selling Nunez will be complicated because of the money they paid for him in 2022. Liverpool would not want to lose money on him and would need a club to pay a sizable fee for a striker who has shown scant little to suggest that he could be a reliable goalscorer.
