Liverpool

As Liverpool's star forwards age or head elsewhere, the club needed to reload to keep pace in the upper echelon, and the Uruguayan rising star fits the ...

That does not necessarily mean he will be able to follow a Klopp pressing schema, but if he is unable to do so, it will not be for want of effort. But he is extremely adept at pulling wide and dragging central defenders out of position, exactly what Liverpool needs a forward to do to create spaces for Salah and Díaz. There have been times for Benfica when he has played on the left of a front three, which means there could be times when he plays alongside Firmino as a direct replacement for Salah. And if there was a sense of weariness in the Champions League final, if Díaz against Real Madrid fell short of the standard he had set earlier in the season, none of that was necessarily terminal. And while any transfer is a risk, Núñez looks like a good fit for Liverpool. He turns 23 at the end of June and scored 26 goals in 24 league starts last season, to go with six goals in the Champions League (two of which came against Liverpool in the quarterfinals). He is quick, tough and imposing, more than happy to engage in physical duels with defenders. Bringing in Diogo Jota for the 2020-21 season was a start, and adding Luis Díaz in January was a significant follow-up move, but it was clear Liverpool needed something more, especially as Man City loads up with Erling Haaland. And that’s why the signing of Darwin Núñez, announced by Benfica on Monday, feels so significant. Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool have done an extraordinary job in just about keeping pace with Manchester City, despite a net transfer spend of around $500 million less than its chief Premier League foe over the past six years, but perhaps this was it.

One of the biggest splashes of the entire 2022 summer transfer window sees Liverpool get close to their transfer record for 22-year-old Uruguayan attacking ...

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With the Reds making a statement of intent signing, we take a closer look at their newly minted record transfer.

While it is interesting to picture him leading the line in a 4231 — and a €100M transfer does seem like it might be a compelling argument to tweak the formation — a natural tendency to drift towards the flanks suggests he could also be at home in one of the wide attacker positions of Liverpool’s current 433. It’s never a sure thing with transfers, but he’s the kind of player that could legitimately, should things shake out right, carve himself out a place as a bona fide club legend. It might not matter in the end, as the Uruguayan is all of those things too, but it’s certainly worth keeping an eye on. Still, at least until he becomes the sort of success his transfer fee suggests he should be, we will continue to invite caution when extrapolating numbers across leagues. It appears, however, that the Reds’ hierarchy — whether driven by Julian Ward’s experience in the region or copious and novel data accumulation — have identified Liga Portugal as one from which production translates to the Premier League better than, say, the Bundesliga, and are targeting players accordingly. On the defensive end, the Artigas native is a willing and busy presser, if not a tremendously effective one.

As Sadio Mane's future swirls, Liverpool have already found a replacement to keep their machine rolling. The Reds have proven to be one of the best teams in ...

Adding Nunez would ensure that the Reds can compete for the title even without Mane but all that stands in their way now is an agreement with Benfica. The biggest area that Nunez would need to improve at Liverpool is his passing accuracy. It's a steep price but for one of the top talents in the world, it could be worth it to secure Nunez's talents.

Liverpool fan Nick Sapia gives us his take on the latest talking points as Darwin Núñez arrives on the scene at Anfield, with Erling Haaland joining Man ...

For all the fretting about Michael Edwards' departure, Julian Ward's tenure is off to a flying start. He's sure to score goals in bunches for Manchester City. That said, scoring goals hasn't been much of an issue for City over the past few seasons. The key is versatility, as Nuñez, Luis Díaz and Diogo Jota can each play multiple positions across the front three and will give the manager options while still being able to bring in reinforcements off the bench. Is there anyone else who you’d love to sign based on how well they have played against the Reds? With pre-season edging ever closer, there is plenty on the Liverpool agenda. His goal return speaks for itself, and he was brilliant throughout the Champions League last season (against Liverpool obviously included).

Benfica, who announced the deal in the early hours of Monday morning, say Liverpool will pay an initial €75m (£64m); the transfer is subject to the ...

"The first €5m is easy to achieve based on the number of games, €10m depends on the titles the player wins at Liverpool and the number of goals he will score. Nowadays, he's not one of the top strikers because he doesn't play in the top five leagues. If you look at Darwin Nunez's games with Benfica, he plays inside the area but when he has been deployed on the wings, he is perfectly capable of playing there too. The other one was Luis Diaz who moved to Liverpool in January and that made Nunez the absolute best player. But he can easily play out wide to break spaces for other players in the central areas if teams need him. They focus on playing for the team and making the whole team play well.

Portuguese club Benfica says it has reached agreement with Liverpool for Uruguay striker Darwin Núñez to transfer to Anfield for an initial 75 million ...

In a brief statement to the Portuguese stock market, Benfica said the transfer sum could rise to 100 million euros ($105 million) based on variables. Klopp spoke of his admiration for Núñez last season after the striker scored in both legs of Benfica's Champions League quarterfinal loss to Liverpool. Klopp's team beat Benfica 6-4 on aggregate on the way to the final, where it lost to Real Madrid. Liverpool has reached an agreement with Benfica for the signing of Uruguay striker Darwin Núñez for an initial fee of 75 million euros ($79 million), the Portuguese club said Monday, in a transfer that would further shake up Jurgen Klopp's attacking options.

Liverpool invented selling players to buy more players...even though Manchester City have recently done it just as well.

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Ian Rush. Sir Roger Hunt. Robbie Fowler. King Kenny Dalglish. Michael Owen. Luis Suarez. Fernando Torres. Mohamed Salah. These names are all synonymous with ...

With a six-year contract being cited for Darwin Núñez, he should have both the opportunities, and the time, to produce at a very high level in a very good team with one of the best managers in the world. With some of the brightest young talents, along with plenty of players currently in their prime, Liverpool have built a team in a sustainable manner, and a team that should be very good for the foreseeable future. Mohamed Salah still wears that mantle having won a share of the Premier League Golden Boot award for the third time since joining the Reds. That should certainly shield Darwin from some of the pressure as he settles into Jürgen Klopp’s side, allowing him to be another cog, albeit an important one. And while the fullbacks are the de facto creative hub, the forward line plays as an unselfish unit, with Mohamed Salah (15), Diogo Jota (6), and Roberto Firmino (5) adding an additional 26 assists. The Uruguayan has all the physical attributes one would hope for in a striker, aptly described in the wonderful scouting report by our own Audun. He’s big, physical, fast, and is smart with his movement. These names are all synonymous with copious amounts of goals, and in most cases, goals that lead to hardware.

Liverpool have completed the signing of Uruguayan striker Darwin Núñez, Benfica confirmed this morning. An initial transfer fee of £68.1m could swell above ...

Last season, Liverpool's Achilles heel at times was their inability to breakdown deep-lying defences, and Klopp's antidote was always to revert to a 4-2-3-1, bringing on the likes of Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino to play in either the number nine or number 10 roles. If Sadio Mané were still in the mix for next season, then it might be a different story, but he looks bound for Bayern Munich. Klopp has great attacking options beyond the first XI in the shape of Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino, but neither of them are un-benchable. While he is likely to be the go-to man through the middle, fluid rotations can be expected within the course of a single game. Historically, he even has a couple of appearances from the right flank under his belt too. It is nice to have options, but Núñez alone does not give Klopp a good enough reason to rip up a winning system. Klopp has not played with a traditional number nine for some time — whether it comes from Liverpool or Núñez, some adaptation may be required.

Liverpool tracked Darwin Nunez for years but few games shaped his future like the two against his new club last season.

As the ball was crossed in Nunez leaned back and fired goalwards. Once Robertson caught up with him, Nunez just hit the ball in straight away rather than opting to dribble past him or hold up play. Van Dijk made a solid recovery but then used his arm to slow Nunez down. The way he see-sawed from one side to the other was unpredictable and gave Liverpool’s defence plenty to think about. Klopp is a big fan of versatility and appreciates attacking players who can take up more than one role in the team. If the ball goes forward here it could set up a two v one situation. Across the two legs he attempted eight dribbles and completed five of them. Nunez made the most of what now looks to have been an 180-minute audition on top of Liverpool’s seven years of surveillance. This was an infrequent opportunity for Jurgen Klopp in particular to watch Nunez up close and personal. His 16 goals in 32 appearances was one of the reasons Benfica broke their club record fee to sign him for €24 million in September 2020. Here we breakdown what exactly Nunez did in those games to impress Klopp and Liverpool, what areas he still needs to work on, and what supporters can expect from him this season. Darwin Nunez could become the most expensive signing in Liverpool’s history.

Liverpool invented selling players to buy more players...even though Manchester City have recently done it better.

Indeed, only Leeds have a higher net spend in the whole Premier League. Firstly, he does not have the option of picking Manchester City because they are not actually interested. Is that the same Liverpool who literally scored more headed goals in the Premier League last season than any other team? ‘Unlike at Anfield, both Manchester clubs have not relied upon player exits to power their free-spending approach. This is all lovely. And here we have it.

Darwin Nunez's former coach David Badia has explained the striker's game and told Liverpool fans what they can expect from their new £85million signing.

In a statement they confirmed that Nunez would join the Reds subject to a medical and personal terms in a deal worth up to £85million, which would be a club record signing for Jurgen Klopp’s side. It makes for a faster style than in South America. For that reason, he had to adapt to this rhythm. Benfica announced that they had agreed a fee with Liverpool in the early hours of Monday morning. “Some of the players, they have one or two chances and can score one goal. Darwin Nunez’s former coach David Badia has explained the striker’s game and told Liverpool fans what they can expect from their new £85million signing. It is difficult.

Liverpool have reached an agreement with Benfica for the signing of Darwin Nunez in a deal that could reach £85m, while Manchester City have announced the ...

It is understood that Nunez will sign a six-year contract until the summer of 2028, and his medical is already underway. The Portuguese club confirmed in the early hours of Monday morning that a deal worth a potential £85m (€100m) had been struck. “Man City had the inside-track on him for a variety of reasons, Man City will be able to meet the salary expectations which other clubs won’t be able to.

However, former striker Suarez has claimed that they could have bought him for just one-quarter of that price three years ago when he was at Almeria. “I ...

“You expect the top strikers to want to play in the Premier League. With those two new signings that’s going to be the case. However, former striker Suarez has claimed that they could have bought him for just one-quarter of that price three years ago when he was at Almeria. Nunez has starred for Benfica over the past two years with 48 goals in 85 appearances - 34 of those coming this season.

Liverpool's summer spending has kicked off in spectacular style this month with Jurgen Klopp closing in on a deal for Benfica hotshot Darwin Nunez.

Eager Liverpool fans will be awaiting the confirmation of Nunez's signing so they can get their hands on a jersey with his name and number. However, if Mane's exit triggers an opening at No.10, he will join a stellar crop of former players to don the jersey at Anfield. Nunez was immediately handed the No.9 shirt on arrival at Benfica in 2021 and he took on the mantle of chief goalscorer with 48 goals in 85 appearances. Nunez has worn No.9 for the Uruguay national side on occasion, in the absence of first-choice Luis Suarez, but his main number with La Celeste is No.11. That would make the striker the Reds' record signing. Nunez will take a squad number outside the traditional 1-11 if Mane remains at Liverpool in the coming weeks, with the No. 2 shirt the only current 'starting XI' jersey at Anfield that remains free.

Since then, Liverpool tracked Nunez's progress as he went from making his debut in place of ex-Liverpool player Maxi Rodriguez for Penarol in November 2017 to ...

As the ball was crossed in, Nunez leaned back and fired toward goal. In one passage of play, he picked up a pass and managed to hold off Konate before escaping up the left channel. Van Dijk made a solid recovery but then used his arm to slow Nunez down. The way he see-sawed from one side to the other was unpredictable and gave Liverpool’s defence plenty to think about. Once Robertson caught up with him, Nunez just hit the ball in straight away rather than opting to dribble past him or hold up play. Nunez made the most of what now looks to have been a 180-minute audition on top of Liverpool’s seven years of surveillance. If the ball goes forward here it could set up a two-v-one situation. Klopp is a big fan of versatility and appreciates attacking players who can take up more than one role in the team. Across the two legs, he attempted eight dribbles and completed five of them. Here, we break down what exactly Nunez did in those games to impress Klopp and Liverpool, what areas he still needs to work on, and what supporters can expect from him this season. This was a rare opportunity for Jurgen Klopp to watch Nunez up close and personal. His 16 goals in 32 appearances were part of the reason Benfica broke their club-record fee to sign him for €24 million in September 2020.