Ian Wright believes that one player in Liverpool’s squad poses a ‘massive problem’ for Arne Slot and could be detrimental to their hopes of winning the Premier League this season.
While the likes of Luis Diaz and Mo Salah have thrived up front for the Reds since the start of the campaign, it’s been much tougher for Darwin Nunez, who’s scored just once in 307 minutes of game-time and has been restricted to three starts in all competitions (Transfermarkt).
The Uruguay striker – who cost LFC an initial £64m to sign from Benfica in 2022, potentially rising to £85m with add-ons (BBC Sport) – has faced incessant criticism since arriving in England, and he’s currently regarded by the head coach as our backup centre-forward to Diogo Jota.
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Wright not convinced by Nunez
Speaking on the latest episode of the Wrighty’s House podcast, Wright claimed that Liverpool would ‘easily’ be favourites to win the league if Nunez were scoring consistently, but he now doubts whether the 25-year-old will ever be anything more than an ‘impact player’ for the Reds.
The ex-Arsenal marksman said: “Can you imagine if Nunez could score consistently? That’s a lot of money to play for a squad player. I see Jota as the main man; he [Nunez] is an impact player, and that’s a lot of money for an impact player.
“I’ve seen enough of him now. I thought at some stage it would click for him, but it’s not clicked in for him. If it clicked in for him then Liverpool are definitely easily favourites. Easily one of the favourites, Liverpool with a firing Darwin Nunez. I’m telling you, it’s a massive problem.”
Nunez hasn’t been at his best…but that could change
As much as we want Nunez to succeed at Liverpool and finally prove his many doubters wrong, he hasn’t truly made the most of the opportunities handed to him by Slot so far this season.
Aside from Federico Chiesa, who’s only had piecemeal involvement since his transfer from Juventus six weeks ago, the Uruguayan is our lowest-scoring forward for the campaign so far (Transfermarkt).
The paradox is that the solitary goal he’s netted in 2024/25 was, of course, the stupendous strike against Bournemouth last month – a finish of such aplomb that it boggles the mind as to how he doesn’t score more regularly.
Nunez will need to keep battling to muscle Jota out of the team, barring an extended absence for the Portugal forward, although Slot has said that the 25-year-old could now benefit from having his CONMEBOL ban suspended and being available for Uruguay during the current international break.
Maybe a couple of goals in the shirt of his nation will uncork a torrent of confidence that he’ll take back to Merseyside and unleash on Liverpool’s upcoming opponents. As Wright says, just imagine how lethal our forward line would be if our explosive number 9 discovers his best form.
