Everyone at Football FanCast is devastated by the tragic passing of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva. We are sending our thoughts and prayers to their friends, families, teammates and loved ones.
Liverpool exceeded expectations when they won the Premier League last season, but Darwin Nunez struggled to perform at the expected level throughout.
The 26-year-old striker is a maverick, for sure, but he’s also erratic and chaotic and often incapable of harnessing and channelling his skills into something coherent.
With Luis Diaz’s future looking more certain to exist outside of Liverpool, Barcelona and Bayern Munich both vying for his signature and receiving plenty of encouragement, Liverpool might not want to cash in on Nunez.
However, the Uruguay international is in talks to join Napoli, and selling him may well be for the best.
Why Liverpool should sell Darwin Nunez
When Liverpool signed Nunez, they purchased a young and exciting striker who had just come off the back of a 34-goal campaign with Portuguese giants Benfica, scoring twice against Liverpool on Europe’s elite stage.
Klopp, perhaps, had a glint in his eyes when watching the Uruguayan run rampant over many of Europe’s finest; maybe the savvy tactician saw the reincarnation of Luis Suarez in Benfica’s man.
Unfortunately, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Nunez has flattered to deceive for much of his time on Merseyside, even if he’s shown flashes of the quality that convinced the German manager to fork out an initial £64m fee from FSG’s coffers.
He is expected to depart this summer, and while a popular figure, Nunez hasn’t succeeded in emulating his iconic countryman.
What Liverpool need is a striker who embodies some of Suarez’s qualities but also has experience competing consistently at the very highest level.
Liverpool eyeing Darwin Nunez upgrade
As per TEAMtalk, Slot’s dream signing for the rest of the summer is Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak, even if a deal would be extremely difficult to complete.
After the Magpies sealed their place in next season’s Champions League, The Athletic’s David Ornstein claimed there was “no chance” he would leave St. James’ Park. This has since been corroborated by the news that he has been valued at an eye-watering £200m.
Recent events will rightly halt any immediate developments, but Liverpool may well make a concerted effort to challenge the Magpies for their star man later in the transfer window.
Why Alexander Isak can be the new Luis Suarez
Isak has played for Newcastle across three seasons, and he’s improved incrementally.
A shoddy fitness record has been left in the past, with the Sweden star’s athleticism and strength having come on leaps and bounds. His application even led Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher to hail him as “the best striker in the Premier League” last season.
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In the Premier League, Isak played a monumental part in guiding Eddie Howe’s side back into the Champions League, sealing their place on the final day of the 2024/25 campaign.
His goals counted for plenty, with the 23 strikes put away in the Premier League bettered only by Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.
However, Isak also ranked among the top 16% of positional peers competing across Europe’s top five leagues last term for shot-creating actions, the top 13% for progressive passes, the top 7% for progressive carries and the top 8% for successful take-ons per 90, as per FBref.
His all-encompassing attacking game even suggests that he could become Slot’s own version of former Redmen superstar Suarez, who, incredibly, posted 82 goals and 32 assists across only 133 appearances.
Suarez might have reached his career zenith at Barcelona, but who can argue against him being in a different stratosphere to the rest of the Premier League when he plied his trade on Merseyside?
Suarez was a devastating finisher, to be sure, but he was so much more than a simple goalscorer. Steven Gerrard once said the marksman “had everything”, and named him the best forward he had ever played with.
The iconic Anfield skipper went into further detail about exactly what set Suarez apart from his positional peers: “He could embarrass you, even with stuff that I don’t think that he knew he was doing. He was a ricochet merchant, he would run over you, he’d dominate you and bully you.”
Given the stage-by-stage progress that Isak, still only 25, has enjoyed in England, there’s certainly a good chance that he could reach the level of Liverpool’s one-time South American talisman, bringing a “world-class” striking ability, as has been praised by pundit and Premier League record goalscorer Alan Shearer, to Slot’s squad.
But then, as the aforementioned FBref data suggests, Isak might also thrive in link-up situations, bouncing off the creativity of stars such as Salah and Florian Wirtz, who joined Liverpool in a deal rising to a British-record £116m.
After all, the £120k-per-week number nine created 11 big chances in the Premier League last season, as per Sofascore, emphasising just how creative and intelligent he is in his attacking play.
Suarez perhaps reached the highest level of any forward to have ever played in the Premier League when he was at his apex. Many would contest such conjecture but it’s an argument that would hold at any table.
In Isak, Liverpool might just find the perfect, belated successor, and Slot might secure his perfect new centre-forward.
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