“Final Six Months.” – Journo On The Future Of Ace Klopp Said Had ‘Quality Coming Out Of His Ears’ | OneFootball

By James Cranford

Liverpool fans were dealt a blow in Arne Slot’s press conference ahead of this weekend’s game against Brentford, with the head coach revealing Diogo Jota is struggling with a ‘niggle’ following the 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest.

Jota has been used sparingly since his return from a long injury layoff but has contributed four goals in recent weeks, including the crucial equaliser just 22 seconds after coming off the bench at the City Ground.

A contributory factor in the frustration over Jota’s inability to stay fit has been the poor form of Darwin Núñez. The Uruguayan was the hero in West London with a late brace, however, question marks remain over his long-term suitability.

Many have lost patience with the 25-year-old and believe his days at Anfield are numbered. Rumours have circulated about a potential £70 million move to Saudi side Al-Hilal, with AC Milan also mentioned as a possible future destination.

With the fitness of the likes of Jota and Federico Chiesa under question and Arne Slot seemingly unwilling to play Cody Gakpo as a central striker, would the head coach consider selling the misfiring Núñez with the club in a good position to land at least one major trophy this season?

On the latest episode of our Journo Insight Show, we asked the Liverpool Echo’s LFC correspondent Paul Gorst for his thoughts on Darwin Núñez prior to his exploits at the Gtech Community Stadium.

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“I was surprised by that report – £70 million. Liverpool only paid 64 to begin with for Darwin Núñez, and I don’t know whether the Saudi Arabia machine is still chundering on with huge transfer fees.

“I would be absolutely shocked if Liverpool were entertaining the idea of selling Darwin Núñez in January.

“There was a link to AC Milan at the beginning of the month, wasn’t there? I spoke to someone who would be well-connected on that side of things there to see if they could stand it up.

“The idea was that Sérgio Conceição had only just taken over, so they hadn’t quite got to the point of discussing around recruitment.

“I’d be shocked if Liverpool are looking to deal for Núñez this month. In the summer is probably a bit of a different question. I think maybe we might be seeing the final six months of Núñez’s Liverpool career because I don’t think Slot trusts him 100%.

“I think he’s going to keep what he has got and go full steam ahead for major honours. So Núñez is part of that. And in the summer, it might become a different question.”

“HE HAS ALL THE KEY ATTRIBUTES” – DUTCH FOOTBALL WRITER ON LIVERPOOL LINKED JORELL HATO

Redmen Reacts

With Darwin Núñez now two-and-a-half years into his Liverpool career, fans and pundits alike have started to give up on the idea of the Uruguayan finding the goalscoring form he showed at Benfica. Núñez has been frustrated throughout his time at Anfield, showing brief glimpses of the undoubted ability which convinced Jürgen Klopp to bring him in in the first place. Many would consider the mooted fee of £70 million from Saudi Arabia more than a fair price for a man who may well be in the final stages of his time on Merseyside. However, a January sale should only be sanctioned if there is a ready-made replacement who can come in for the remainder of the season. Jayden Danns has impressed in his brief first-team cameos, but the responsibility of leading the club to a 20th Premier League title should not fall on the shoulders of a teenager, especially given the injury record of Diogo Jota.