Jamie Carragher has named one player he does not expect to be at the club next season despite his role in helping Liverpool ‘get over the line’ in the Premier League title race this season.
Fabrizio Romano reported last week that Saudi Arabia are ‘genuinely’ interested in Darwin Núñez – but if this is the 25-year-old’s final season at Anfield, he will not go quietly!
signed Initial £64m (potentially rising £85m including add-ons) The 2022 Uruguayan has been subject to constant criticism since arriving in England, but he made a habit of coming off the bench to score an extra-time winner against Brentford last weekend.
Carragher remains skeptical about Nunez’s future
to Sky Sports News On Monday evening, Carragher was asked whether he thought the Liverpool number nine had ‘done enough to stay at the club’ following his recent heroics.
The expert answered this way: “No, not really. That may be the case right now, but I can’t imagine he’ll be at the club next season. Well, I’m not interested in that conversation, but if you spend that kind of money on a striker and he’s not your number one pick…
“He’s probably the third choice. Once Jota gets healthy, Luis Diaz will likely be picked ahead of him. It probably shows that it hasn’t worked out as well as he would have liked or as Liverpool would have liked. However, he has a stellar record off the bench.
“I think since he joined the club he has scored more goals and assisted more than anyone else from the bench in the Premier League. Perhaps that will be his role from now until the end of the season. “This could help Liverpool get over the line.”
Is Carragher’s ‘super sub’ suggestion correct?
With Diogo Jota unfortunately set to miss several weeks of action due to yet another injury, Liverpool will be expecting Nunez to produce a good product in the upcoming games.
It remains to be seen whether he did enough to dethrone Diaz as our starting centre-forward following Uruguay’s second-half attack against Brentford, but it is precisely Arne Slot’s preference to play a natural winger instead of the No.9 spot. This is not a firm endorsement. A player who spent a lot of money to lead the line.
The 25-year-old has now scored three stoppage-time goals against Manchester United in the Premier League. Newcastle and Nottingham Forest last season and bees on the weekend – And in each match he was recalled from the substitutes bench.
Although the former Benfica marksman would like to avoid the ‘super sub’ label, he certainly lends support to Carragher’s suggestion that Nunez is most effective when making an impact.
If the Uruguay international can provide a few more decisive moments over the remainder of the season, it will make it too difficult for Liverpool to even consider selling him in the summer. Jota’s absence in the coming weeks will give him the opportunity to state his serious intentions for Slot.
