Liverpool have all but wrapped up the deal to sign Benfica striker Darwin Nunez for a reported fee of around €100million on a six-year deal. We expect the Reds to announce the deal soon as soon as the Uruguayan completes his medical with the club today.
Manchester City moved early in the market to secure the statement signing of Borussia Dortmund’s Norwegian striker Erling Haaland. With Sadio Mane expected to leave (h/t The Athletic), it was important for Liverpool to splash the cash to adequately replace the hole that the Senegalese forward would leave behind and ensure the Merseyside outfit remains close in terms of quality with City for the 2022-23 season.
Official and here we go confirmed!Darwin Núñez, new Liverpool player on a permanent deal from Benfica. 🚨📑 #LFC
Benfica statement confirms “deal now signed for €75m fee plus add-ons to reach €100m package”.
Núñez will sign until 2028, medical today.
Never been in doubt. pic.twitter.com/DEroWLCBH7
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 13, 2022
How will Liverpool line up with Darwin Nunez?
The Reds’ new signing Darwin Nunez is expected to lead the attack and would be deployed up front. Luis Diaz has hit the ground running and is expected to start out wide on the left, while Mohammed Salah will be deployed on the right.
Liverpool also has other quality alternatives and it would be really interesting to see how Jurgen Klopp rotates with the options in the form of Diego Jota and Roberto Firmino available at his disposal. We could also see Firmino playing a crucial role as a secondary striker to Nunez, coming in as a substitute towards the latter part of the game.
It was evident from the 2021-22 season that Liverpool would still want to compete in all competitions and Jota and Firmino would get plenty of playing time and we would get the chance to see Nunez playing alongside different attacking partners.
Darwin Nuñez taking pictures in Liverpool. Liverpool are preparing his official announcement. 🇺🇾 pic.twitter.com/HpGnv5FtgG
— DaveOCKOP (@DaveOCKOP) June 14, 2022
Nunez had a prolific season at Benfica, finding the back of the net on 34 occasions in just 41 appearances in all competitions. It would be really interesting to see him playing with Salah and Diaz who had a combined 56 goal involvements in the Premier League last season.
Behind the trio of Diaz, Nunez, and Firmino, there aren’t expected to be many changes from the 2021-22 season. Klopp is expected to start with the tried and tested trio of Fabinho, Thiago, and Keita and will have the option to rotate James Milner and Jordan Henderson when needed.
Further behind, Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold will be deployed as fullbacks, while Klopp is expected to stick with the centre-back pairing of Virgil Van Dijk and Ibrahim Konate with Alisson between the posts.
The attacking prowess with Liverpool, with the incoming Uruguayan striker, certainly seems to pack a punch and would definitely be up there to compete with Manchester City’s. It remains to be seen how the new signing adapts to Jurgen Klopp’s attacking system and whether he would have an instant impact. Liverpool unfortunately doesn’t have the luxury of time if they want to continue competing with City for the title.
