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Stan Collymore has issued some words of advice to Darwin Nunez amid much speculation about the Liverpool forward’s future.
As we exclusively reported on Empire of the Kop today, three primary contenders have emerged in the race to sign the Reds’ number 9 (AC Milan, Napoli, Al-Hilal), with the Uruguayan potentially up for sale this summer.
The 25-year-old is valued at £70m by the Premier League champions, matching the amount that Al-Nassr were prepared to offer for him in January only to be rebuffed as FSG didn’t want to sell the striker mid-season (Daily Mail).
Collymore advises Nunez to stay for one more season
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Collymore has urged Nunez not to leave Liverpool in a hurry, citing regret at what he believes was an overly hasty departure from Anfield when he left for Aston Villa in 1997.
The former LFC striker said: “I am sure conversations are ongoing with Arne Slot, and if he says he wants Darwin as a valued member of the team, then I think he should stay.
“It’s only if the club turns around and says: ‘Look, it’s not happening for you, it’s not happening for us. We can sell you and you can get good money wherever and we’ll get a bit of PSR wriggle room.’”
Collymore added: “I think if you’re playing at Liverpool as champions of England and the club is bringing in someone like [Florian] Wirtz, you think you can stick it out, make hay and get your head and continue to find that one season.
“It’s only if the club say they want to desperately offload him but I haven’t heard that either, so I think it’s going to be an interesting summer.
“I felt I left Liverpool a year early and it was because Michael Owen was coming into the team, so I thought I wouldn’t get the game-time; whereas with Darwin, he’s got Mo [Salah] who is staying and he is the main attacking conduit, and we know there is a new attacking midfielder who is going to create plenty of chances and there are widemen who can create, whether it is [Cody] Gakpo or [Luis] Diaz.
“I would just stick it out for another year if I was Darwin, because his overall record in all competitions, goals-to-games ratio ain’t that bad. It is not poor.”
Will Nunez stay or go this summer?
We certainly take Collymore’s point about Nunez potentially thriving at Liverpool next season with the creative excellence of Wirtz behind him, and the Uruguayan’s overall return of 40 goals in 143 games for the Reds isn’t terrible.
The problem with the 25-year-old isn’t necessarily that he isn’t getting the service, though, but rather that he should do better with it. As per FBref, he’s underperformed on his xG in all three of his Premier League campaigns at Anfield (by 2.6 in 2022/23, 5.3 the following year and 0.8 last term).
Even if the incoming German playmaker supplies him with a steady flow of chances, can our current number 9 be relied upon to make the most of them? A paltry total of one top-flight start in 2025 would suggest that Arne Slot has his doubts.
Collymore is well-placed to offer advice to Nunez based on his own experience of leaving Liverpool, and we wouldn’t be shoving the Uruguay striker out the door with any undue haste.
It could ultimately come down to whether or not he wants to remain at Anfield, and whether any of his reported suitors come forward with an offer that FSG may find too difficult to turn down.
