Liverpool to join £100m transfer club with Darwin Nunez upgrade? ‘Big summer’ prediction as legendary Reds striker reacts to misfiring Uruguayan failing to hit ‘one in two’ target

The Reds splashed out £64 million ($81m) in 2022 when prising Uruguayan forward Nunez away from Benfica. He arrived at Anfield with a big reputation, with a spell in the Premier League intended to unlock full potential in a mercurial talent.

Nunez has, however, registered just 39 goals through 132 appearances for Liverpool – with only 24 of those coming in the English top-flight. Having been handed the fabled No.9 shirt on Merseyside, more was expected from the 25-year-old South American.

Quizzed on whether Liverpool need to find an upgrade on Nunez, former Reds striker Aldridge – speaking in association with Betano – told GOAL: “It’s been tough for him. The pressure that comes with being a Liverpool striker – Benfica, he did really well, but the Portuguese league is not the English league. It is hard, we know that. He’s not done what we expected.

“To play for Liverpool as a striker – as the likes of Rushy [Ian Rush], Robbie [Fowler], myself and many, many others will tell you – you have to score a goal every two games. It’s as simple as that. In the modern game you can probably get away with one in two-and-a-half, maybe three if everyone is scoring, but that’s the minimum. Look at Mo as winger, not a striker, and his stats are incredible. You score goals, you keep your place. Unfortunately for Darwin, he’s not been doing that on a regular basis. He has only played a bit-part so let’s just watch this space.

“Liverpool fans want him to do really well. It can flummox you a bit. You watch him sometimes and he misses some great chances. I don’t mind missing chances because you are getting in the positions. His forte is upsetting defenders. At the moment, you look at the Liverpool squad and he is only an impact player. They can’t guarantee him the No.9 spot because he’s not scoring the goals to keep it. Bobby Firmino did it and many players before him. You simply have to score goals.

“He can run around and upset players and defenders, that comes with the territory. You have to score goals. He knows that. His confidence is really low but it’s been like this for a couple of years now.”

Pressed further on whether Liverpool could shell out a nine-figure fee in pursuit of fresh faces – allowing them to join the £100m ($127m) club – Aldridge added: “They were in the mix for [Moises] Caicedo who went for 110m, apparently. This summer, we have to wait and see what happens with the three lads with their contracts. But there has got to be a few changes in the summer. They haven’t spent with the new manager – only Chiesa, 10-12m – so Liverpool fans are hoping they [the owners] are saving up because it’s going to be a big summer for Liverpool. If we win the league, to build on what we’ve got and what is happening with the three players, let’s win the league and then worry about other stuff afterwards. Simply, there is a lot of work to be done and, in my opinion, it is going to need a lot of money to be spent.”

The lack of activity at Anfield through recent transfer windows suggests that a budget has been built for 2025. Arne Slot and Co are going to need a sizeable war chest as the likes of Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk continue to run their respective contracts down towards free agency.