Arne Slot move spells bad news for Darwin Nunez years after first Liverpool warning issued

Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez risks slipping even further down Arne Slot’s newly-formed pecking order if Federico Chiesa is lured to Anfield this week. The Reds are reportedly weighing up a cut-price move for the Juventus wide man over the final few days of the summer transfer window.

Nunez’s time on Merseyside has been a mixed bag. His return of 33 goals in 97 games, including 18 in all competitions last season, is far from disastrous. But many expected more after his £85million move from Benfica in 2022.

And Slot does not appear to be the Uruguayan’s biggest fan. Nunez was an unused substitute against Ipswich Town on the opening weekend and was only given 20 minutes to impress at home to Brentford on Sunday.

His task of finding a way into Slot’s starting XI will only get harder if Chiesa is brought into the fold. The Italian, who plays predominantly out wide, is into the final year of his Juve contract and could be available for just under £13m.

Nunez is already struggling for minutes behind Diogo Jota, Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah. Chiesa’s arrival risks seeing him frozen out of the first-team picture altogether.

Although Nunez and Chiesa offer something completely different, they will both be in contention to start on the left flank this season. Chiesa can play on either side, and last season Nunez was frequently shifted from his favoured central role to fill in on the wings.

Uncertainty around Nunez’s standing at Anfield comes after Liverpool’s former head of data, Ian Graham, claims to have warned the club about signing him from Benfica.

He told The Athletic: “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?’. We always had a list of ‘great players but not for Liverpool’. 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.”