Liverpool are moving closer to a Darwin Nunez deal, according to reports. It would have an interesting effect on three players.
All suggests that Liverpool will secure a deal for Darwin Nunez before long. The Athletic, among many others, believes the Reds have already agreed personal terms with the forward – they just need a fee.
It’s thought to be around £85m in total to get Benfica to sell. Liverpool will want to make that as easy to pay as possible, we imagine, using add-ons and instalments. The amount would equate to a club-record transfer, though.
And with that, Liverpool would bring in a fantastic player who could re-shape the team. Nunez is a wonderful striker who can lead the line expertly, using physicality and ‘tremendous speed’ to hurt teams.
That’s a move towards a more traditional no.9, then, rather than the False 9 that Liverpool have used under Jurgen Klopp. And that, in particular, could have an interesting effect on players currently at the club.
Liverpool move towards Darwin Nunez deal
Klopp used Roberto Firmino and, this season, Sadio Mané as False 9s in his attack. They’d threaten the opposition goal, of course, but they’d also drop deep and link with midfield. It was they who would find space between the lines and play the side’s most creative role.
Signing Nunez would move Liverpool away from that, then. He’s much more of a goalscorer and a physical threat for opposition defenders, rather than someone who deliberately drops away from them.
Thus Klopp needs to find that creativity and link from midfield elsewhere. We think he’s already moved in that direction, though, with his growing collection of attack-minded midfielders.
Harvey Elliott, Curtis Jones and the incoming Fabio Carvalho are all a different breed of midfielder to what Liverpool are used to. The Reds have used mainly deep-lying, safety-first midfielders up to now but the youngsters aren’t that. They look to drive the ball between the lines and be that attacking-link themselves – and that would be particularly important with Nunez up top.
We believe all three will move into more prominent roles over the next year or two as a result. Liverpool will turn to their trio of playmakers to be a creative outlet for the side, rather than a False 9. If the three of them fulfil their potential, the squad could have something very, very special.
It’s something we saw coming late last year as interest in Carvalho started to grow. Nunez’s arrival shows the plan coming to fruition.