Slot’s own Luis Suarez is now “offering Liverpool less than Nunez did”

Liverpool have not been at their greatest this season, although there’s an expectation and anticipation throughout the pink Merseyside streets that Arne Slot has what it takes to show issues round.

The Dutch coach gained the Premier League in his first 12 months on the helm, in any case, and he achieved this having spent little or no final summer time, welcoming Federico Chiesa from Juventus for a cut-price £12.5m payment after which utilizing the Italian sparingly throughout the marketing campaign.

It did not matter, although. Liverpool had been spearheaded by Mohamed Salah’s jaw-dropping season, the Egyptian breaking any variety of information as he claimed his second Premier League title. He gained a gamut of particular person accolades too.

However Salah is 33 years outdated, and it was clear to Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes that the Reds wanted sweeping adjustments throughout the ultimate third, with no ensures that Salah would replicate such a one-of-a-kind marketing campaign.

It was clear, certainly, that Darwin Nunez wanted to be offered after three seasons on Merseyside that left loads to be desired.

Why Liverpool offered Darwin Nunez

Liverpool signed Nunez from Benfica for an preliminary £64m payment in 2022. That determine would have risen to a club-record £85m mark, however for the Uruguayan’s struggles throughout his three years in England, that meant targets had been left unhit.

Throughout three seasons, he solely scored 25 instances within the Premier League. This statistic is aggravated by Sofascore knowledge revealing that the 25-year-old missed 53 large probabilities throughout that timeframe.

Nunez’s plight at quantity 9, first throughout two years in Jurgen Klopp’s system after which underneath Slot’s wing, was performed out in opposition to the backdrop of a trophy-rich interval at Anfield, and he did depart this summer time as a Premier League champion.

However Nunez, now plying his commerce with Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia, by no means didn’t shake off the wasteful tag that chased him via his English profession.

It was essential that he was changed, and changed he was this summer time.

Liverpool first wrapped up a £69m transfer for Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike, and the French ahead already appears to be like ranges above Nunez on the Liverpool spearhead.

Nonetheless, one other Redman has been criticised for providing lower than Nunez did final season, with the South American posting seven targets and 7 assists throughout 47 matches in Slot’s system.

Liverpool ahead is ‘providing lower than Nunez’

Liverpool ‘gained’ the switch window. So many thrilling signings had been welcomed down Anfield Highway, however the membership have discovered it powerful throughout the opening months of the season, and club-record signing Alexander Isak is the proper instance of that.

Isak, 26, is likely one of the most interesting goalscorers in world soccer, and Liverpool ended a highly-charged switch saga this summer time by finishing the British-record £125m addition of Newcastle United’s talisman.

Nonetheless, Isak went on strike within the build-up to his large transfer, and this has left him scrambling for kind throughout his opening matches, missing match health and fluency.

Extra is predicted at this stage, and Liverpool correspondent David Lynch has even gone so far as to counsel that the 6 foot 3 striker is “providing Liverpool lower than Darwin Nunez did” in the meanwhile, with only one purpose and one help throughout eight appearances this time period.

Isak gave his new membership a flavour of his talent when netting in opposition to Southampton within the Carabao Cup firstly of October, however it’s been a transitional interval for him, to make sure.

And Lynch is correct. Nunez had supplied Liverpool extra at this stage final season, however that doesn’t imply that Isak will proceed to wrestle.

That is all to be taken with a pinch of salt, after all. Solely in January did pundit Jamie Carragher hail Isak as “the most effective striker within the Premier League”.

Final season, the Sweden star ranked among the many high 3% of Premier League forwards for purpose involvements, the highest 12% for goal-creating actions and the highest 14% for profitable take-ons per 90, as per FBref. He scored 27 targets throughout all competitions, together with the decisive strike in opposition to Liverpool to elevate the Carabao Cup at Wembley.

His all-encompassing attacking type has even seen comparisons drawn with former Liverpool celebrity Luis Suarez, who was as prolific as they arrive in England and performed his soccer was such gusto and persona.

Suarez was a one-of-a-kind centre-forward, however then so is Isak. Liverpool simply have not been handled to his most interesting abilities but. Nonetheless, it’s on Isak to get himself in control and show he’s something however Nunez-esque.

Whereas Nunez fell by the wayside after finishing his big-money transfer from abroad, Isak has confirmed himself after which some on English shores since becoming a member of Newcastle from Actual Sociedad for £63m in 2022. His time on Tyneside was no joke, and Liverpool would bear testomony to their record-signing’s would possibly after his string of sensible performances in opposition to the Anfield facet prior to now.

Now that autumn is deepening, Liverpool should be certain that Isak is nursed towards full well being, although Slot shall be cautious after the £280k-per-week celebrity was saved on the perimeter throughout the latest worldwide break by Sweden boss Graham Potter.

Ekitike has proved he’s each bit the elite rival to thrive at quantity 9 when Isak is injured or merely rested, however Liverpool will count on their British-record addition to start out proving they’ve acquired bang for his or her buck quickly, particularly given the necessity to ease the load of the membership’s present disaster.

For a revered reporter to be observing that Isak is at present pulling much less weight than Nunez was, a extremely polarising former Purple, that’s proof that it hasn’t been ok, and must be shortly modified.