A round-up of the latest Liverpool news as John Barnes delivers his honest verdict on Darwin Nunez and the Reds’ plans to stage a medical for a £100m target fall through.
Mohamed Salah impresses John Heitinga in Liverpool pre-season training
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah is impressing new Reds coach John Heitinga during their pre-season tour of the USA. Heitinga has returned to Merseyside this summer after becoming a club hero for Everton to serve in Liverpool’s coaching staff under new head coach Arne Slot.
Salah flew out to America with Liverpool after reporting for pre-season training on July 10. It did not take long for Salah to dazzle Slot with his incredible fitness levels at the AXA Training Centre, either. Now, Heitinga is the one showering the 32-year-old with praise out in the US.
The latest instalment of Inside Training shows Heitinga shouting ‘Well done Mo!’ after Salah shifted the ball from his left to right foot and played a pass between Sepp van den Berg and Ryan Gravenberch. Salah also assisted Dominik Szoboszlai to pip Real Betis 1-0 on Saturday.
Read more about how Salah is impressing Liverpool coach Heitinga in pre-season, here.
Newcastle United agreed to let Anthony Gordon undergo his Liverpool medical
Newcastle United gave Liverpool permission to arrange a medical for Anthony Gordon as the Reds chased the winger’s transfer. That is according to the Daily Mail, which reports that the Toon gave their go-ahead for Gordon to do his necessary fitness checks while at Euro 2024.
Gordon was due to hold a medical with Liverpool’s doctors in Leipzig as talks with Newcastle were progressing positively. A chance to move to Anfield turned the England international’s head, too. But Newcastle selling Yankuba Minteh before the PSR deadline ruined their deal.
Fears at Newcastle about breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules saw the Magpies cut their £100m asking price to £75m and offer to buy Joe Gomez for £45m as part of Gordon’s transfer to Liverpool. But Minteh’s exit meant they did not need the funds.
Read more about Liverpool’s interest in Gordon’s transfer from Newcastle, here.
John Barnes thinks Darwin Nunez could be ‘the best player in the world’
Liverpool icon John Barnes claims Darwin Nunez would be ‘the best player in the world’ if he could score 40 goals a season. But the Reds do not need the 25-year-old to compete with Erling Haaland over the Golden Boot to bring the Premier League title to Anfield in 2024/25.
Barnes even believes Nunez can do what Haaland cannot as the Uruguayan runs around the pitch chasing almost every ball, whereas the Norwegian waits to pounce. So, if Nunez was a Golden Boot contender as well, few in the game would stand ahead of the Liverpool player.
“He can fire us to the title without scoring 40 goals,” Barnes told the Daily Mail. “You don’t have to compete with anybody else. What he can do, Erling Haaland can’t do.
“You look at the hard work he gives and he chases around. Erling Haaland doesn’t do that but he scores lots of goals. If [Nunez] did that as well as scoring 40 goals, he’d be the best player in the world.”
Nunez gifted Liverpool 11 goals plus eight assists through his 36 Premier League games last season. Haaland, meanwhile, fired home 27 and created five over 31 games at Manchester City. It was enough for the 24-year-old’s second Golden Boot in as many terms in England.
Read more about what Barnes has had to say about Nunez and Haaland, here.
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