Darwin Nunez has failed to make much of a mark at Liverpool since arriving in 2022, and the Uruguayan could see a change of scenery next season as the summer transfer window opens up
Darwin Nunez's future at Liverpool has long been in question, and with the summer transfer window almost upon us, a move away could be in the offing. The Uruguayan striker has failed to live up to his £85million fee since arriving at Anfield from Benfica in 2022, finding the back of the net just 40 times in 143 club appearances.
As Arne Slot has already announced his intentions to build on his Premier League-winning side, Nunez could be shown the door for the right price. He received a winner's medal for his part in the 2024/25 Premier League campaign.
But Nunez only managed to register five goals for the Reds in 30 games this term – with Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Diogo Jota all proving more prolific in front of goal.
As a result, major questions have arisen with regards to the 25-year-old's future at Liverpool under Slot, who will undoubtedly look for a proven goalscorer to give Liverpool their best chance of defending their league title in 2025/26. But what has been said of Nunez, and where could he end up going? Here, Mirror Football breaks it down...
'Biggest mistake' in Liverpool's history?
Former Liverpool star Dietmar Hamann recently pondered whether Nunez is the biggest transfer mistake in Liverpool's illustrious history. Speaking to Betting Lounge, the 51-year-old – who played for the Reds between 1999 and 2006 – said: "Is Darwin Nunez the biggest transfer mistake in Liverpool’s history? Maybe, it’s just part of the game.
"When you bring players in, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. People probably thought, myself included, if you bring somebody in for £85million, it guarantees you goals, but looking back it wasn’t money well spent.
"Now you need to see how much you recoup. Maybe one of the Saudi clubs comes and you get your money back. The other thing is, we shouldn't forget that he's been part of a title winning side. He played his part as much as everybody else.
"He was part of the team. He contributed maybe not as much as others, but sometimes it's easier to swallow when you bring a player in like him, when the team is still successful regardless. I think it's a very good sign for the state Liverpool is in at the moment to bring in a forward in for a lot of money and he doesn’t score many goals, but you’re still winning."
£4million saga
Nunez seemingly criticised Slot in a cryptic social media post at the back end of April. The striker found himself benched at the turn of the year, starting just one game for Liverpool in the club's last 10 fixtures amid stiff competition for places in the starting XI.
Taking to X to speak about his lack of playing time on the eve of Liverpool's 5-1 title-winning victory over Tottenham, Nunez wrote: "No wonder I didn’t play more, because the last game I started in the Premier League went well and suddenly..."
The post was quickly deleted, with Nunez uploading a photo of himself and Alexis Mac Allister enjoying a popular South American caffeinated drink an hour later. However, replies on the post made it clear that his earlier message was gone but not forgotten.
It came after rumours from Portugal suggested that Liverpool were benching Nunez to avoid paying a £4.2m (€5m) transfer instalment to Benfica. A Bola suggested that the Portuguese club received a bonus each time the forward hit a milestone in terms of starting games in the Premier League and Champions League.
The publication claimed that Benfica would receive £4.2m for 10 starts, another £4.2 when he hit 35, and another £4.2m when he secured his 60th. Slot, however, was quick to rubbish rumours that he was benching Nunez for that reason, telling reporters: "Do you always believe what journalists say?
"Not always? Me neither. Sometimes you should, but sometimes it’s better not to believe everything that is written about players. This is completely new to me and I’ve said many times that I’m working at a club here where it’s really nice to work.
"So mainly sporting directors are judged by the players they bring in, for me it’s very important to have a great working environment and I have that with Richard [Hughes]. The last, last, last, last, last thing he would do, as I expect working with him for 10 months, is tell me, 'If you play him it would cost us this much.'
"That, he would never, never, never do. I don’t even know if it’s true, yes or no, because we never talk about that. He never interferes with a lineup. It might be true, but if a journalist says it we have to... (take it with a pinch of salt)."
A boost for Florian Wirtz
Regardless of if he stays at Anfield this summer, Nunez has already provided a boost for Florian Wirtz, should Liverpool ultimately sign their marquee target. The Reds have been one of numerous clubs interested in acquiring the German playmaker's services this summer, with Manchester City and Bayern Munich both also interested in the Bayer Leverkusen star.
However, City pulled out of the race last week over concerns surrounding the finances involved, while Wirtz is believed to have turned down Vincent Kompany's Bayern in recent days.
Liverpool also have a slight sweetener in their endeavours, in being able to offer the 22-year-old the shirt number of 27. Nunez was initially issued the number when he arrived at Liverpool three years ago, but decided to switch to nine a year into his tenure.
Wirtz kicked off his career with Leverkusen at number 23, before swapping it for 27 in his second year. He made the number synonymous with his name before eventually taking over as the Bundesliga outfit's number 10.
And while Mac Allister currently adorns that number, Liverpool would be able to nostalgically offer 27 to Wirtz – the shirt that helped him make his name.
Liverpool are also alone in being able to offer the number to Wirtz when compared to City and Bayern, with Matheus Nunes and Jack Grealish holding the numbers for the Cityzens, and Konrad Laimer and Leroy Sane occupying them with the Bavarians.
Any talk of assigning shirt numbers will come a touch prematurely at present, however, as it is believed that Leverkusen have slapped Wirtz with a price tag of more than £120m this summer, and time will tell if Liverpool are able to get a deal over the line.
Landing spots for Nunez
Should Liverpool decide to sell Nunez this summer, then there are a number of clubs that the striker has been linked with outside the Premier League. It was reported that Saudi Pro League outfit, Al-Nassr, has been keeping tabs on Nunez back in January, purportedly willing to pay as much as £70m for the player.
Meanwhile, it was also recently claimed by The Athletic that Nunez was being courted by Atletico Madrid and AC Milan. Already proven under the Spanish sun, Nunez spent a year with Almeria back in 2019, where he racked up 16 goals in 32 appearances.
Cadena SER also claim that Atletico have held talks with Nunez, who has reportedly already shared enthusiasm with regards to joining the La Liga side. It is said that everything has been agreed from the forward's perspective, but a deal with Liverpool is yet to come to fruition.
Elsewhere, it is said that Napoli are on the hunt for Nunez, as well as Al-Hilal. With three years remaining on his contract at Anfield, time will tell what is next for the striker.