Darwin Nunez brutally put down as ‘not a Liverpool player’ as legend hints Slot may have to sell striker

Liverpool have been advised by one of their greatest ever goalscorers that Darwin Nunez just isn’t up to standard and their patience may have to end soon.

Nunez was a massive signing for Liverpool in 2022, costing £64m from Benfica. However, two-and-a-half years later, it’s hard to say the Uruguay striker has justified his fee.

On Saturday, Nunez failed to score against League Two side Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup third round, despite lasting the full 90 minutes.

And Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler believes time might be running out for Nunez to prove he is worthy of playing for the club.

“We’re saying the same things now that we’re saying two or three years ago,” he told ITV Sport. “He’s raw, he’s this, he’s that, and we can’t keep saying that.

“So for me, the more I see him, the more I think he’s not a Liverpool player. Now, people might have a go at me for saying this: you know, he works hard; you’re not signing a player because he works hard because that should be a prerequisite anyway.

“You’ve got to come in, you’ve got to score goals, and I know he’s a fan favourite for what he puts in, but at the time that we’re talking now, you’ve got to perform better, and you’ve got to do better in the Liverpool shirt.”

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Robbie Fowler highlights Darwin Nunez weaknesses

Nunez has scored just 37 goals from 122 games for Liverpool. In contrast, he scored 34 goals from 41 games in his final Benfica season alone.

He has shown glimpses of quality for Liverpool, but not in consistent enough spells. And Fowler has pinpointed why Nunez tends to struggle.

“I don’t think he’s quick enough in terms of how he should be finishing,” Liverpool’s seventh-highest scorer of all time added.

“He’s quick over the ground, we know how quick he is, but when you are a striker, your speed of force has got to be quicker than anyone else. When he has time to think about it, he sort of struggles instinctively.

“Sometimes he looks a little bit better, but we still probably want a little bit more, so I think the speed of force as a striker in terms of where he should be, how he finishes, any part of his body, feet or head, it’s got to improve.”

Latest Liverpool transfer news

Liverpool reportedly faced interest in Nunez earlier this month when he was linked with AC Milan, but the attacker is being kept under contract until 2028.

And if Liverpool are to strengthen their attack in January, it seems more likely to be with a winger, after they showed interest in Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

Arne Slot issued a cautious response about the Georgia international on Friday, and it seems Kvaratskhelia’s heart is set on a move to Paris Saint-Germain instead – but it is an indication of where Liverpool’s attention may have been.

That’s despite Liverpool having been willing to throw Federico Chiesa into the deal as a counterpart – shortly before he scored his first goal for the club in Saturday’s 4-0 win.

Meanwhile, the contract sagas surrounding Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk continue to linger over the club.

One former Liverpool striker has now told Alexander-Arnold how to handle the heat of his current transfer saga.

Darwin Nunez stats this season