Darwin Nunez has not completed a full 90 minutes in the Premier League since Liverpool’s 3-3 draw against Newcastle United in early December 2024, leading to a decline in his standing within the team.
Consequently, the club has had to refute speculation regarding his limited playing time.
Since arriving on Merseyside for a club-record fee of €85 million in the same summer that Erling Haaland transferred to Manchester City, the 35-cap, 13-goal Uruguayan international has struggled to make a significant impact.
Since joining in the summer of 2022, the 25-year-old has plundered 40 goals – and a further 26 assists – in 138 outings. This campaign alone, the out-of-sorts centre-forward notched seven goals and the same number of assists in 42 appearances.
As evidenced by his lack of recent minutes on the red half of Merseyside, things under Slot – who is widely regarded as one of the best managers in world football – have not gone swimmingly and his days are, therefore, potentially numbered.
Nunez, a Penarol academy graduate, has not started under the Dutchman since their 3-1 victory over Southampton in March and, as such, fingers are pointing towards a sale in the summer months with the Reds looking to recoup some of their outlay.
Newspaper A Bola, via Sport Witness, claimed on Tuesday that Liverpool, who could win the Premier League title this weekend, would be required to chuck up a further €5 million (£4.3m) if Artigas-born Nunez starts just one more game for Liverpool.
Thus far, he’s started 49 games across the Premier League and Champions League – but the aforementioned report has claimed that Liverpool will have to pay up to Benfica when he makes his 50th start for the 19-time champions of the top flight.