A pundit reckons Liverpool should end their ‘strange’ pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe and instead go after a midfielder, as Darwin Nunez will ‘come good’.
Liverpool spent an initial £64million to sign Nunez from Benfica, though they could end up paying £85m in total due to add-ons. This would make the striker the most expensive signing in Liverpool’s history.
Nunez has managed four goals in 11 appearances under Jurgen Klopp so far. However, he is far from being the finished product.
This was shown perfectly in the game against Manchester City on Sunday. The Uruguayan came off the bench in the 72nd minute to replace Roberto Firmino.
Mo Salah gave Liverpool the lead four minutes later with a brilliant counter-attacking goal.
Nunez twice got into great positions late in the match. However, he failed to pick out his team-mates at the right time and squandered the opportunities as a result.
The first time, Nunez should have played in Salah, who would have had a relatively simple finish. Instead, Nunez opted to shoot from outside the box and his effort was blocked.
The second time, the big-money signing had Fabio Carvalho screaming for the ball next to him. Nunez ignored him though and tried to pick out Trent Alexander-Arnold at the back post, which was the harder pass. Once again, the chance came to nothing.
Luckily for Nunez, Salah’s goal proved to be the winner. If City had equalised, plenty of criticism would have been aimed at Nunez for not passing to his team-mates at the correct moment.
Liverpool told to steer clear of Kylian Mbappe move
It has recently been claimed Mbappe is unhappy at PSG. And due to this, Liverpool have once again been named as potential suitors for him.
Mbappe would be a massive upgrade on Nunez for Liverpool. He has scored an incredible 183 goals for PSG in 231 appearances.
However, former striker Frank McAvennie thinks Liverpool should stay clear of Mbappe as Nunez will ‘come good’ eventually.
Instead, McAvennie has told Reds chiefs to prioritise a deal for midfielder Jude Bellingham.
“It is a strange one but Mbappe is in demand,” the pundit said during an interview with Football Insider.
“He is the highest paid player at the club, he is probably the highest paid player in the world, why would you want to leave?
“They seem to get on well, him, Messi and Neymar. The three big ones. The manager has a hard task every day keeping the three of them happy.
Bundesliga ace would be better for Klopp, says pundit
“I think they need Jude Bellingham before they need Mbappe. I think Nunez will come good. It is mouth-watering but I do not think that will happen.”
McAvennie is right, as there are a few problems with the links putting Liverpool in the frame for Mbappe’s signature.
First of all, they would struggle to meet his huge wage demands. Mo Salah is their current highest earner, taking home £350,000 a week.
Mbappe, though, reportedly earns an eye-watering €962k (£828k) every seven days.
Plus, Liverpool need to save money so they can afford to sign Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund. He could cost as much as £131m, so Liverpool should not spend a similar kind of fee on Mbappe.
Bellingham is Liverpool’s prime target to solve their midfield problems. Klopp already has strong options in attack, so this area should not be prioritised as much as midfield next summer.
While Mbappe moving to Anfield would be great for the Premier League, it is hard to see such a transfer actually happening. It is far more likely Bellingham will join Liverpool in 2023.
Meanwhile, Fabrizio Romano has given his verdict on whether Liverpool could gazump Man Utd for Frenkie de Jong.