Outscoring Nunez: Liverpool must regret losing Klopp's "special" ace for £0

Liverpool have never struggled for stylish attacking players. The Anfield side’s long and storied history is paved with the toil of so many free-scoring forwards.

From Ian Rush to Robbie Fowler to Luis Suarez to Mohamed Salah, the Reds have been treated to some of the very best. Salah is the current superstar, scoring against Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday evening to take his bloated tally to 237 – with 106 assists besides – across 383 Liverpool appearances.

Described as a “Premier League legend” by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher earlier in the 2024/25 campaign, the Egyptian is supercharging Arne Slot’s campaign, chasing down titles across all four fronts.

Slot wields a dynamic and talented strikeforce, but Salah is the cream of the crop. Conversely, Darwin Nunez is still struggling to live up to the club-record price tag,

Darwin Nunez’s season in numbers

Liverpool signed Nunez before the 2022/23 season for a record fee rising to £85m, but he has failed to provide Anfield with the attacking edge that they needed.

Luckily, it hasn’t detracted from the overall success of Liverpool’s frontline, but with just six goals across all competitions this season and confirmed interest from Saudi Arabian suitors throughout the January transfer window, time may well be running out for the Uruguay international to leave an indelible mark on English football.

He’s flattered to deceive for much of his Premier League career. As per Sofascore, Nunez has missed a staggering 50 big chances in the division since signing for Liverpool, having only scored 24 goals.

But the durability. The commitment to the cause. Nunez blanked against Spurs as Liverpool stepped into the Carabao Cup final but he was highly effective, bringing it all together and dancing in the face of adversity.

He’s got a part to play, alright. However, when taking Nunez’s exorbitant transfer fee into account, it would take a brazen supporter to argue that he’s lived up to his predecessor’s plate at number nine.

Roberto Firmino – like Nunez, in a sense – was never the most prolific of centre-forwards, but he was in his own stratosphere when it came to magic and influence, the linchpin that made Jurgen Klopp’s team fire at full throttle.

The 33-year-old’s into his second year in the Saudi Pro League, but he’s still got it.

How Bobby Firmino has got on since leaving Liverpool

Jurgen Klopp was once asked what advice he would give to someone seeking to build a great team. His response? “Built it around Bobby Firmino.”

Sadio Mane and the inevitable Salah operated as first-class assassins, but Firmino was the cement, the connector. Liverpool’s attacking conduit blended silky movement and passing with one of the sharpest minds in the game to establish an incredible level of offensive fluency. It bred hordes of silverware.

Klopp didn’t actually bring Firmino to Merseyside himself, the former Brazil international joining from German club Hoffenheim in a £29m deal back in June 2015, months before Brendan Rodgers’ dismissal and the ensuing whirlwind of events that would change Liverpool’s direction.

Mane once hailed Firmino as a “special player” but that scarcely scratches the surface of a truly unique skill set. The Brazilian’s name is etched into the club’s history book.

He left Anfield at the end of his contract in July 2023, leaving for £0, and has since plied his trade with Al-Ahli, captaining the Gulf-based side.

He might be at the twilight end of his distinguished career, but Firmino is still proving himself as an effective forward, having posted nine goals and five assists for Al-Ahli this season, comfortably ahead of Nunez’s six-goal and five-assist haul under Slot’s wing.

You might say that the forward is playing in a league of inferior quality to that of the Premier League, but he was hardly a liability for Liverpool as he bowed out, scoring 11 goals and adding four assists from merely 13 top-flight starts in 2022/23.

This is a potent level that wasn’t always on show from the Brazilian maestro, but he didn’t neglect the nuts and bolts of his skill set, also ranking among the top 1% of Premier League forwards that year for passes attempted and progressive passes, the top 13% for shot-creating actions, the top 6% for ball recoveries and the top 16% for tackles per 90, as per FBref.

With Nunez still lacking that keen edge and overall style that would see him live up to the lofty price tag and provide Slot’s team with Salah-rivalling quality, it’s somewhat frustrating that Liverpool failed to renew the striker’s contract way back when.

Was the reported £85m outlay really necessary? Have Liverpool received bang for their buck? Firmino, while earning a pretty at £179k per week on Merseyside, was matchless in his dynamic and creative forward role.

Given that Luis Diaz, a natural left winger, has been routinely preferred to Nunez at number nine this season, you have to wonder whether Liverpool would have been better off retaining his services and allowing him to jockey with the younger and more athletic Colombian, especially with Cody Gakpo also brought into the mix and now performing so well.

One thing’s for sure: Firmino is comfortably at the table of Liverpool’s great forward players, every bit as important as the most clinical Salah throughout the bulk of Klopp’s illustrious reign.

He’s outscoring Nunez this season, and while, yes, it’s in Saudi, you wouldn’t bet against him clinching a higher tally were he a valued member of Slot’s squad this season.

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