Liverpool fans will hope Darwin Nunez goes on a devastating run of form now, having broken his goalscoring duck for the 2024/25 Premier League season last time out against AFC Bournemouth.
This was the Uruguayan attacker’s first start in the league under the new Arne Slot regime, and he repaid his manager’s faith with a strike in the one-sided contest, as the Reds swept the Cherries aside 3-0.
Under the previous stewardship of Jurgen Klopp, Nunez hadn’t exactly sparked into life and shown himself to be a consistent finisher of chances though, with a satisfactory but not amazing 11 top-flight strikes managed last campaign before the German handed over the reins.
Once upon a time deep into the German’s tenure, the Reds nearly snapped up a younger but still potent Erling Haaland, who could have cost pennies to land, when weighed up next to Nunez’s extortionate £85m price tag.
When Liverpool could have signed Haaland
Amazingly, Borussia Dortmund managed to snap up the ice-cold Norwegian’s services in 2019 for an extremely low £17m, after the Scandinavian had become a scarily clinical goal machine for RB Salzburg in nearby Austria.
Netting a ridiculous 29 times from just 27 appearances for Salzburg, the goals wouldn’t let up for the Nordic great in Germany either, with 86 strikes coming his way from 89 games, as Dortmund laughed all the way to the bank when Manchester City became interested.
Dortmund’s unbelievable gain could well have been Liverpool’s theoretically, with the Reds eager to get Haaland through the door in 2019 before his major move to the Bundesliga.
Ex-Molde scout John Vik revealed in 2022 to the Athletic that Liverpool – alongside Arsenal – had their eyes on a growing Haaland when he was still playing in his native Norway, but none were willing take the plunge and gamble on the towering centre-forward. At the time, he was playing for Molde and could have been available for just £4m.
“Liverpool could have got him. Arsenal could have got him. Everyone was there to watch him but these clubs were seeing a No 9 who was tall and broad and, ‘Oh, he’s going to be a target man’. I couldn’t for the life of me see why they had narrowed him down that way.” – Vik on Haaland.
That must be a major regret on the end of the Reds, who could do with a deadly striker away from Nunez and a misfiring Diogo Jota, with Haaland now one of the world’s best talents at rivals Manchester City.
Erling Haaland's transfer value in 2024
According to Transfermarkt, Haaland’s valuation has now shot up to a steep £152m, a far-cry away from his humble beginnings at Dortmund when he cost a meagre £17m to pick up.
The menacing 24-year-old has become a “special talent” striker – as per Jesse Marsch – donning a City shirt under Pep Guardiola’s expert management, with a staggering 100 goals and 14 assists registered across 105 appearances to date.
As can be seen in the table below, having Haaland at Slot’s disposal right now would undoubtably improve Liverpool going forward, with Nunez and Jota’s combined goal total this Premier League season so far staggeringly eight off the lethal 24-year-old’s total.
Players
Games played
Goals scored
Haaland
5
10
Nunez
4
1
Jota
4
1
The Reds would have been able to win him for much less than what Man City forked out as well, with the reigning top-flight champions having to pay up a £51.2m fee, which is still modest for such a devastating attacker, but high compared to his previous £4m price-tag back in Norway.
Haaland doesn’t look like stopping anytime soon either when it comes to his dangerous form in-front of goal, with the world class Man City striker capable one day of going for a lavish amount to another club.
Whilst City revel in having a striker of the Norwegian’s quality at their disposal week in week out, the Reds will regret not just taking a punt on the prolific forward when he was a raw unpolished gem playing for Molde.
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