Liverpool may turn their attention to Arnaut Danjuma if they fail to get a deal for Darwin Nunez over the line this summer.
That’s according to journalist Fabrizio Romano. Writing in a column for Caught Offside, Romano suggested that if Liverpool don’t sign Nunez, the Villarreal winger could be an option.
“What if the clubs miss out?” mused Romano. “It’s not really in Liverpool’s mindset to have a ‘Plan B’: they identify their target and try in every way to achieve it. I can tell you, however, that one player who they have been following for a long time is Arnaut Danjuma of Villarreal.”
Hopefully that’s a scenario that doesn’t come to pass. Should Liverpool fail to land their top target though, there’s certainly worse back-up plans to have.
Danjuma corroborates the claims himself
Interestingly, this information has already been relayed by Danjuma himself.
Speaking last month, the Holland international claimed that he had been ‘informed’ of Liverpool monitoring his progress.
That appeared to be in regards to a move last summer. But he ended up moving to Spain from Bournemouth instead.
However, Liverpool tend to assess potential targets for a long while. It’s totally feasible that they are still keeping a close eye on Danjuma after an excellent season.
Why not sign both
On the face of it, Danjuma would actually look like a much more ‘Liverpool signing’ than Nunez.
In terms of playing style, both would look to fit the way Jurgen Klopp likes his forwards to play. But it looks as though Nunez would cost more than twice what Danjuma would.
The Uruguayan’s fee looks to be set at somewhere around the £85m mark. Any such deal would comfortably make him Liverpool’s record signing.
Meanwhile, Danjuma reportedly has a release clause of somewhere close to £34m, While still a big outlay, that’s more like the kind of prices Liverpool go in for.
It could still be that Liverpool look to bring in the Dutchman as well as Nunez. Mohamed Salah’s contract situation still looks precarious and even with Nunez on board, they don’t have a natural replacement on the right side.
The 25-year-old does tend to operate more on the left, but he’s somewhat two footed. Also comfortable through the middle, he was called ‘very dangerous’ by Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann via Goal.
Liverpool have several options to consider, then. It will be interesting to see whether their business is finished if and when Nunez gets over the line.
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