Liverpool can FINALLY sign their new Mo Salah | OneFootball

Nunez struggles to live up to price tag

Nunez looks destined to leave this summer having failed to live up to his billing as the most expensive signing in the club’s history - prior to the Wirtz deal.

The 26-year-old will depart with just 40 goals to his name in 143 games and only netted five in the league last term.

He was the landmark Liverpool arrival in the 2022 summer window - signed for a fee of up to £85m from Benfica - but hasn’t matched the output of the other two Premier League superstar strikers signed during that time.

Erling Haaland for example has scored 123 goals in the same timeframe for Manchester City. Alexander Isak, meanwhile, has scored 62 in just 109 outings for Newcastle.

While Haaland might have always looked destined for City, Liverpool did in fact have the option of adding Isak back in 2022.

Klopp preferred Nunez over Isak

That’s according to Ian Graham, the Reds’ former director of research. Having previously convinced Jurgen Klopp to sign Mohamed Salah instead of Julian Brandt, Graham’s team can be said to have had a transformative effect on the club’s fortunes.

But Graham lost the battle to Klopp in 2022 over Isak. The German manager was enamoured with Nunez and pushed to sign the Uruguayan instead.

“Jürgen created a lot of success for the club, so it’s understandable why it moved in that direction,” Graham told the Financial Times. “I’m happy to talk about my colleagues persuading Jürgen [in 2017] that Mo Salah was the player to buy instead of Julian Brandt.

“In 2022, he signed Darwin Núñez [for £70mn plus add-ons] instead of Alexander Isak.

“Both players, if you look at top young centre-forwards in Europe, they would be number one and two — or two and three but [Erling] Haaland was going to [Manchester] City and out of our price range.

“Jürgen preferred Núñez.”

© IMAGO - Darwin Nunez Liverpool Anfield 2024-25

Isak going from strength to strength

Newcastle finished ahead of Liverpool that season with the Reds finishing down in fifth - blowing a £100m hole in the budget that’s taken a long time to correct.

And while Nunez’s stock has plummeted - with Liverpool seeking to offload him in a cut-price deal - Isak has gone from strength to strength.

The Sweden international is the hottest property in this summer’s transfer market and could be leaving Newcastle for a fee of over £100m.

That’s not a bad return for Newcastle on the £63m they paid Real Sociedad.

© IMAGO

Isak to Liverpool could change everything

Liverpool have already put the groundwork in on this deal - according to Graham - and now have the chance to rectify Klopp’s major transfer error. They will have to pay a lot more money - and a lot more in wages - than they would have done in 2022.

But now they know they’ll be signing a proven Premier League striker who is now in the world-class bracket. It’s no exaggeration to say this one transfer fix could change everything. Isak was supposed to be the next Firmino; the next Salah.

The recruitment team did their work and hand-delivered Klopp the ideal frontman on a plate. He turned elsewhere however and the Reds suffered. Now is the time to right that wrong. Nunez out, Isak in is the transfer that MUST happen this summer.