Divock Origi’s Liverpool exit has made it more likely for Darwin Nunez to join the club this summer.
That’s according to the Liverpool Echo, who claim that Origi’s departure has left Liverpool needing a new central striker.
Nunez’s ability to play through the centre of the attack in the Belgian’s absence is claimed to be seen as ‘a useful option’ by Liverpool.
Liverpool need a new striker
So far, Nunez’s potential arrival at Liverpool has been seen mainly as a replacement for the possibly outgoing Sadio Mane.
However, it’s fair to note that The Reds are also set to lose another option up-front.
Origi may have only started five games all season for Liverpool, but he scored six goals in that time. The 27-year-old offered something different to Jurgen Klopp’s other forwards and Nunez looks to have some similar attributes.
The Uruguayan hitman is slightly taller than even Origi. He has pace, is obviously at home running the channels and looks like an excellent finisher.
As Klopp famously declared in April, Origi was long seen as the best finisher at the club. His other options aren’t exactly goal-shy themselves, but Liverpool can sometimes lack a ruthlessness in-front of goal. Nunez could change that.
Nunez shows his versatility
Although a lot of his football has been through the middle for Benfica, Nunez has also played from the left-wing.
This feature of his game could be seen against Liverpool in the Champions League this season. He was nominally the centre-forward for the Portuguese side, but spent much of the game battling with Ibrahima Konate down the Liverpool right.
After the game, Klopp commended the forward for his ‘tough battle’ with Konate via TalkSPORT.
A lot of the focus has been on what losing Mane could do to Liverpool moving forward. But with Origi leaving too and potentially Takumi Minamino to follow, The Reds have to make sure that they’re not left short.
They do have in-house options to remedy this, but signing Nunez would be a real statement that they’re not messing around.
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