'I told Barcelona to sign Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez

Luis Suarez once urged Barcelona to sign Darwin Nunez but the Spanish giants deemed him “too young”, resulting in his transfer to Benfica and later Liverpool.

Nunez has struggled to fulfil his potential since his club record-breaking £85million transfer in 2022. Now in his third season at Liverpool, the team is thriving under Arne Slot, but Nunez is one of the few players yet to impress for the Premier League leaders.

He has netted only two league goals this campaign and four across all competitions, having failed to impress enough to warrant a consistent starting role. And with Nunez not coming off the bench in the recent 5-0 win over West Ham, the Uruguayan is now being quietly linked with a move away this January transfer window.

The 25-year-old’s career trajectory could have been completely different had Barcelona heeded the advice of Suarez - a former Reds great himself - when he recommended his international team-mate during his stint at Almeria from 2019 to 2020. Suarez himself later explained that the Catalan club ignored his recommendation before Nunez’s price-tag skyrocketed.

"I recommended Darwin to Barcelona when he was at Almeria," Suarez revealed in an interview with Gerard Romero prior to Nunez’s Liverpool move. "I have 15 years of international experience. I know a thing or two about forwards. And I told them, ‘pay attention to this one, he’s very good, he shows interesting things’.

"They told me he was at Almeria and that he was too young. But instead of paying now €80m, €90m or €100m, they would’ve paid €15m or €20m and have him there as a substitute."

But things worked out well for the youngster Nunez as he went on to join Benfica in 2020 and entered a new stratosphere in his second season in Portugal, netting 34 goals across all competitions. That caught the eye of several top European clubs as Jurgen Klopp's Reds eventually won the race to secure his services.

Since arriving in the Premier League, Nunez has repeatedly been criticised by pundits and fans for his lack of sharp finishing in front of goal. He scored nine league goals in his first season and 11 in the following campaign.

Image: DANTE FERNANDEZ/AFP via Getty Images) DANTE FERNANDEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Now halfway through his six-year deal, AC Milan have reportedly shown interest in Nunez after he 'liked' a social media post regarding a potential switch to the Serie A side. TEAMtalk reports that Liverpool are considering two replacements, with Newcastle's Alexander Isak and Inter Milan's Marcus Thuram on their radar should Nunez depart.

It is unlikely that he joins AC Milan unless Liverpool sign a replacement this January. Furthermore, Slot’s recent comments also displayed his faith in Nunez, having confirmed that the striker will keep getting opportunities as long as he works hard when selected.

“Yeah, that’s what we are expecting because we see his quality,” Slot responded when quizzed by reporters on whether he expects things to eventually click for Nunez. “For me, the fans do have a lot of love for him.

Image: Getty Images) Getty Images)

“Maybe, I don’t know, I heard something about social media, maybe he got a bit of criticism but he will probably not be the first player who gets criticism on social media! That is what happens if you miss one or two chances.

“Probably if we had lost the game, then it would be that my substitutions were not good and my line-up were not good… that is what social media is all about! It’s true, isn’t it? If you win, it’s all brilliant, if you lose it’s all s**t! But Darwin has shown already that he is a goalscorer. He is able to do so.”

However, he also noted that Nunez faces competition from other players, adding: “It’s just, in my opinion, it is a matter of time before he starts to score. But he is in competition with Luis Diaz, who can play as a nine as well, and Diogo Jota, who is coming back. This is the challenge he also faces now. It’s not only him not scoring goals, it’s also the challenge of going in competition with a few others. But if he keeps working as hard as he does, then his chances will keep coming.

“Okay, it is clear that with Darwin we would like a few more goals from him, he would like a few more himself, but in every other part of the game I am really happy with him. I fully trust him (Nunez) that the goals will come.”

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