Darwin Nunez was an unused substitute in Liverpool 's first Premier League match under manager Arne Slot - and new data around the Uruguayan’s recruitment suggests a potentially challenging future despite assurances from the new manager of his importance.
Nunez joined Liverpool from Benfica in June 2022 in a deal worth up to £85million. The signing was largely driven by long-time manager Jurgen Klopp, who was impressed by the forward’s performances against the Reds in the Champions League.
Since his arrival, the 25-year-old has netted 33 times in 96 appearances across all competitions. Last season, he scored 11 times in the Premier League and assisted a further eight times as Liverpool finished third.
Even so, Nunez became disillusioned under the German last season after being culled from the starting XI. Slot, aware of Nunez’s distress, phoned Nunez upon his arrival to assure the forward he would play a significant role in his revolution of the club.
However, in Ian Graham’s new book How to Win the Premier League , the ex-Head of Data at Anfield suggests Nunez’s recruitment strayed away from the data-led recruitment model that led to the club’s success, calling into question how Nunez can best function at the club in the future.
“Nunez played brilliantly against Liverpool and that has an effect on people,” the Welshman told The Athletic. “It didn’t do him any harm in becoming a Liverpool player. The difficulty with Nunez was that he was a very different type of player to (Roberto) Firmino. My questions were: ‘Are we going to change our style or formation for him?’ Is he a good enough player that it might be worth making those changes?’. It was something we had resisted for many years.
“We went through the same data process for Nunez as with other players. I wanted to make sure that everyone knew what a big change it would be with Nunez. It was more, ‘Are we sure we’re going to make the best use of him?’.”
He added: “I talk in the book about classifying players to understand what their role is. It’s different to whether they are any good or not. We always had a list of ‘great players but not for Liverpool’. Defensive full-backs, target men, crossing wingers — we just didn’t play in that style. It was clear that Nunez was a No 9.
“I wouldn’t say that the data said no to Nunez. It’s more ‘if we sign this player we have to understand this is the role we’ve seen him be effective in and is there currently a slot for him in our squad?’. And if you’re spending a large amount of money on a player then he has to start. The worst thing you can do is buy a squad player and spend money that could be out there on the pitch.”
Nunez remained on the bench in Liverpool's 2-0 victory over Ipswich Town, with Slot opting for the more familiar triumvirate of Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz to lead the line.
While Liverpool required time to settle into their rhythm, Slot's selection was vindicated with goals from Jota and Salah. Previously, Slot insisted Nunez will 'fit in really well' into his playing style due to his versatility, adding: "I just told him that, from what I saw, he played multiple positions and what positions – or position – I see him playing.
"I assume he’ll fit really well into this playing style because I like him. I’ve told him that already; he’s one of the players I’ve spoken to."
Reds' icon Steve Nicol warned that Nunez's omission from the starting XI will only exacerbate issues for the player. Nicol told ESPN: “Not good for Darwin Nunez. Not good that Jota scores. If you’re Darwin Nunez you’re now wondering how you get a start. If Jota keeps scoring goals then Nunez will not start.
"It’s beginning to feel like he’s not happy sitting on the bench. It’s sort of a carry-on from last year, where he pretty much disappeared from the team. It smells a little bit like that.”