£40m talent is becoming Liverpool's biggest liability since Darwin Nunez

Liverpool started the Premier League season with aspirations and expectations that they would challenge for and defend their title.

That goal is out of reach. Arsenal are too far ahead. However, Arne Slot‘s side are competitive in the FA Cup and the Champions League, and failure to win one of those competitions would make this a forgettable campaign for the Reds.

However, should Liverpool also miss out on qualifying for Europe’s elite stage by finishing outside the top five in the Premier League, the memory of this abject campaign would be seared into the fanbase’s mind.

After a record-breaking summer of spending, this would be unforgiveable.

There are many variables at play, but additions like Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz have placed at Slot’s disposal some of the world’s most talented forwards.

Certainly, they’ve been billed as upgrades on Darwin Nunez, who left for Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League.

How Darwin Nunez is getting on after Liverpool

Liverpool’s forwards are starting to hit their stride. Ekitike, for example, looks an incredible like-for-like upgrade on Nunez, who joined Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool for an initial £65m fee in 2022.

The 26-year-old endured a topsy-turvy time on Merseyside, and no mistake, and his sale to Al Hilal last summer came as little surprise to anyone.

The plain truth is that Nunez wasn’t good enough for title-winning Liverpool. He scored 40 goals and supplied 26 assists across 143 matches for the Anfield side, but the missed chances in front of goal were many, and he proved a liability in the final third.

Darwin Nunez – Past 5 Seasons (all comps)
Season	Apps	Goals + Assists
25/26(Al-Hilal	24	9 + 5
24/25 – Liverpool	47	7 + 7
23/24 – Liverpool	54	18 + 15
22/23 – Liverpool	42	15 + 4
21/22 – Benfica	41	34 + 4

FSG’s sweeping summer changes were enforced to put an end to such profligacy, but lo and behold, Slot has ended up with the new version of Nunez in his mix this season.

Liverpool star is becoming the new Nunez

Since joining Liverpool in January 2023 on a £40m deal, Cody Gakpo has ebbed and he has flowed. It was a tough place to arrive when he did, Klopp’s system malfunctioning.

Then Liverpool were resurgent. They won the Carabao Cup, then the Premier League, now they have tumbled once more.

It was a bold move from sporting director Richard Hughes and co to have sold Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich last summer and decided against replacing him.

Prodigious youngster Rio Ngumoha had been deemed good enough to serve as Gakpo’s understudy, but opportunities have been few and far between for the 17-year-old.

Gakpo remains a gifted, versatile forward, and he returned to form against Brighton in the FA Cup. But the danger is that, like Nunez, he is being reduced to moments, flashes of quality that stand out against a lot more greyness.

The former PSV Eindhoven sensation’s trademark move has become a well-worn move. Collect on the left, move inside, strike on goal. Last year, it was devastating, but the contrast since the summer could not be greater.

Moreover, Gakpo is lacking the kind of easy partnership with Milos Kerkez at left-back that Liverpool’s analysts would have envisaged. This has been to the detriment of the club’s wider tactical fluency.

The data alone would tell you that Gakpo has not quite fallen from grace this season, but data can only say so much. Gakpo has developed a Nunez-like habit for doing the same thing over and over again, even when it’s not working out.

Gakpo in the PL for Slot
Stats (* per 90)	24/25	25/26
Matches (starts)	35 (23)	24 (20)
Goals + Assists	10 + 4	5 + 3
Touches	27.7	39.3
Shots (on target)*	1.6 (0.7)	2.3 (0.5)
Accurate passes*	13.1 (84%)	18.3 (80%)
Big chances created	11	8
Possession lost*	7.0	11.5
Succ. dribbles*	0.9 (60%)	1.1 (58%)
Ball recoveries*	2.2	2.5
Tackles + interceptions*	1.1	1.0
Duels (won)*	3.1 (51%)	4.6 (53%)

The most frustrating thing about Nunez is that he is a very talented player. In this, Gakpo is showing certain similarities. The Netherlands international has created 1.6 chances and won 4.6 duels per Premier League match on average this term, and he’s only missed three big chances while scoring five goals.

On the right wing, Mohamed Salah has really struggled this season. The drop-off has been as stark as it has been undeniable. That said, he’s 33 years old and has carried this club on his back for so many years, and Liverpool fan voice John Sullivan has said that Gakpo has become a “far bigger issue than Salah”.

Praised by Klopp for his “special” qualities, the Dutchman is supposed to be entering his physical prime, but he’s been predictable and frustrating, failing to channel his skills in a manner not that different from Nunez over the past several years.