Costly theory behind Darwin Nunez's recent lack of Liverpool minutes refuted
Darwin Nunez has not played in Liverpool’s last two Premier League games
Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez has not started for the Reds since an instrumental display against Southampton in early March - leading to claims from Portugal that his recent lack of minutes is over a transfer clause.
The Uruguayan scored and assisted as the Reds came from 1-0 down to beat the now-relegated Saints at Anfield. However, he has only been introduced off the bench in two of the club’s last four Premier League outings and did not start in the second leg round of 16 clash with Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League or against Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final.
He was completely absent from the squad in the 2-1 win over West Ham United on April 13 and was an unused substitute in the 1-0 victory over Leicester City on Sunday afternoon.
Darwin Nunez transfer clause not reason behind lack of starts
Nunez joined Liverpool from Benfica back in the summer of 2022 in a deal worth up to £85m. His up-front free was around £64m but Benfica inserted a number of realistic performance-related clauses within the agreement in order to get as close to the £85m as possible.
Reports from A Bola earlier this week claim that Liverpool would have to fork out £4.3m upon Nunez’s 60th start in the Premier League or Champions League. His start against Southampton was his 59th towards meeting that clause. The report claims that the Reds have already paid out around £8.6m in add-ons relating to starts in the Premier League or Champions League.
It is something that could go a way to explaining why Nunez has not been selected by Arne Slot in recent line-ups. However, a report from the Liverpool Echo has claimed that Nunez’s recent omissions are not for financial reasons.
Nunez lack of starts could still be transfer related
The striker is set to pick up a Premier League winner’s medal with Slot’s side just one win - or one Arsenal defeat - away from winning their 20th league title. It will be the second Premier League triumph in five years.
Nunez is expected to be sold in the summer after an inconsistent three years on Merseyside. Slot may be limiting the striker’s minutes in order to avoid an injury that could make it more difficult for the Reds to sell him once the window opens. The former Benfica player was the subject of serious interest from Saudi Arabia in January but the Reds rebuffed those advances as they were still in four competitions at that point.
Liverpool will hope to recoup as much money as possible when it comes to Nunez and selling him to a club in Saudi Arabia appears their best chance of generating the funds they desire. Slot’s decision to keep Nunez out of the starting line-up could also be tactical. The Liverpool boss has publicly criticised the striker this season for his work-rate and with the Reds having a fully fit forward department, Slot could have other preferences for his attacking options - hence Nunez’s recent omissions.