Trent Alexander-Arnold’s fierce strike signalled a shift in momentum. Liverpool had fallen behind before the break at Villa Park but were regaining their verve as they chased down three points.
It’s that nerve-wracking time of the season, that point in which the worries bed themselves on players who are in contention to lift the Premier League title in May.
Liverpool’s draw against Aston Villa has extended their lead at the top of the table to eight points, although Arsenal now have a game in hand and Arne Slot’s side make the always daunting trip to Manchester City on Sunday. It’s been a decade since the Reds won at the Etihad in the league.
Bumps and blips are part and parcel of a title race. It’s not supposed to be easy and Liverpool are still primed for the run-in across the business months.
Trent’s slightly deflected goal, struck hard and low, marked a shift in momentum. You felt for all the world that the visitors would apply the pressure and take the goods, but then Darwin Nunez missed, and the Reds lost their way.
Why Liverpool should sell Darwin Nunez
Nunez missed. Again. The 25-year-old has scored 39 goals from 131 matches for Liverpool since he was cherry-picked by Jurgen Klopp in 2022, leaving Benfica for a club-record fee rising to £85m.
Never mind the wastefulness, Nunez has averaged 5.5 passes per Premier League match this season at a success rate of 70%. This is deeply alarming, preventing the player from melding into the fluent football that Slot strives for.
It’s for this reason, perhaps more crucially than Nunez’s missed chances, that he should be sold this summer. Slot needs to end this overreliance on Mohamed Salah, whose latest goal-and-assist performance took his tally to 29 goals and 20 assists across all competitions this term. Absurd.
According to Fabrizio Romano – speaking to GIVEMESPORT – Nunez almost left Merseyside last month but was prevented from joining Saudi side Al-Nassr due to Slot not wanting to be left short. This made sense, with everything on the line.
What happens this summer is a different question.
How curious that Nunez has only missed four big chances this season, converting four goals. As per Sofascore, the Uruguay forward had missed 47 chances across his opening two Premier League campaigns, bagging 20 goals.
It’s not good enough, and this supposedly streamlined accuracy in front of goal is actually to the player’s detriment. No longer is his chaotic style providing some semblance of energetic quality to Liverpool’s first team.
Instead, he’s regressed into something wholly insignificant, reduced to once-in-a-while moments. The consistency simply isn’t there, and Slot will no doubt concede that his strong tactical skills, his ability to elevate many members of the Anfield brood, are not enough to bring the ostensible elite level out of Nunez’s recesses.
FSG will no doubt want to sign a new high-class forward this year, irrespective of Salah’s future, with the likes of Alexander Isak being linked with a move to Merseyside at the moment.
That’s all well and good, but the Swede would cost a sum in the ballpark of £150m, and Liverpool might find that they already have a rising goalscorer already imbued with that certain quality in front of goal. It’s a quality Nunez doesn’t quite have.
Liverpool already have a Nunez upgrade
Liverpool’s academy has gone from strength to strength in recent years, and while Ben Doak and Rio Ngumoha attract a lot of attention, Jayden Danns is a top talent in his own right and could become a mainstay under Slot’s wing in the years to come.
A few weeks ago, Danns, 19, joined Championship side Sunderland on a short-term loan deal, looking to provide the promotion hopefuls with some extra firepower to fuel their charge.
Unfortunately, a back problem kept him on Merseyside and he has yet to make his debut for the Black Cats. However, after such a strong start to life in Liverpool, you’d back the teenage talent to hit the ground running when he does recover.
Having made his professional debut for the Reds last term, Danns has found his options limited in his second term, injured for a time and a victim of Slot’s more stringent team selecting than his predecessor.
Saying that, he’s held in high regard and has an ability to score goals no matter the level, no matter the scenario, which suggests that he could replace Nunez for good.
Liverpool U18s
33
24
4
Liverpool U21s
10
3
2
Liverpool
9
3
0
Liverpool UEFA U19s
2
1
0
In fact, analyst Ben Mattinson has actually claimed that Danns “is a better finisher than Nunez” and has the athletic skill and all-round robustness to become a major player in the years to come.
Last season, Danns’ brace in the FA Cup against Southampton to secure passage to the fifth round for an injury-hit Liverpool side highlighted his natural finishing ability, with the chipped second strike noticeably carrying the assured finesse that Nunez lacks.
Talent scout Antonio Mango described him as “unplayable” in that one, having come off the bench in the Carabao Cup final against Chelsea only several days before to help Liverpool through extra time, hitting the target twice, completing a dribble and winning two duels.
It’s early days yet, but FSG might feel that they’ve hit the jackpot with this one, for Danns could save the club millions in replacing Nunez and providing Liverpool with a new homegrown hero to fire home goals for Slot’s side.
Already, at this nascent stage, Danns is showcasing natural skills that make him apt for a career laden with goals at the highest level. He plays with freedom and poise, balancing beauty and function.
To think that since making his Redmen debut 13 months ago, this youngster has netted three times from just nine appearances speaks well for his future.
In The Pipeline
Should his time in Sunderland go to plan, Slot may be welcoming a homegrown Nunez replacement back to the fold this summer.
As bad as Nunez: Slot must ruthlessly drop Liverpool's "dreadful" 5/10 ace
Liverpool battled back to a draw at Villa Park in the Premier League, with several stars failing to impress.
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