2 days ago
53
Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez has been given permission to travel to Saudi Arabia, where he will complete a $62 million (£46 million) transfer move to Al Hilal.
As a result, the Reds will need to sign another attacker before the window closes even after the arrival of Hugo Ekitike. Newcastle and Sweden superstar Alexander Isak, of course, is the dream target.
Bringing an end to his three-year tenure on Merseyside, though, how will Nunez be remembered at Liverpool? While he never quite lived up to the billing, and it is undoubtedly the right time to part ways, there were plenty of highs (his late brace off the bench at Newcastle arguably being the pinnacle).
Liverpool could have sold Nunez to Saudi Arabia in the winter transfer window, but it was the right move to keep him. He scored two late goals at Brentford after that deal didn't happen and played his part in securing the Premier League title.
Even when he wasn't playing well and scoring a bucketful of goals, he was still given the support of the fans. And having won the Premier League, the Carabao Cup and the Community Shield, he did win silverware.
"When I arrived at the training ground, I was really surprised to see the set-up and the structure and all the trophies here," Nunez said in his introductory interview with official club channels in 2022.
"You can then imagine yourself winning more trophies and then later on when you come here again and see the trophies on display, you can say, 'Look, I was a part of that, I was there at that time, winning trophies'."
Quite obviously, the idea when Nunez came in for a then-club-record fee was that he would become the next focal point of the Liverpool attack. Three years on, that simply hasn't happened.
Earlier in 2025, he was criticized for his work rate by Arne Slot, who didn't hold back in his assessment of the player's efforts on the field. "For the second time in a row I wasn't happy with his work effort, against Wolves and against Villa," the Dutchman said.
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
"I can't accept if a player doesn't give everything. That is clear. I can accept it once, but twice was a bit too much. That's why I addressed it.
"If you miss a chance, you need to be fighting for the team. I'm not saying he didn't do that at all, but it wasn't the usual Darwin, the one that is loved by the fans. That is mainly because he always works so hard."
As he leaves for Saudi Arabia, the compilations of missed chances will no doubt circulate on social media. That he is heading for the Middle East rather than remaining in Europe, where the standard is higher, arguably tells its own story too.
But while he has never quite lived up to his potential, Nunez did notch 64 goal contributions in 143 appearances for the Reds. To paint him as a flop is disingenuous — as the $62M recouped from his sale would indicate.
English (US) ·