Darwin Nunez was not even on the bench for Liverpool’s Premier League 2-1 win over West Ham, with Arne Slot now providing an explanation for his absence.
Nunez joined Joe Gomez, Tyler Morton and Trent Alexander-Arnold among those unavailable for the visit of West Ham, as Arne Slot made four changes to his starting lineup.
Alisson, Kostas Tsimikas, Conor Bradley and Luis Diaz replaced Caoimhin Kelleher, Andy Robertson, Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo.
The absence of Nunez came as a surprise, with it now revealed that the Uruguayan missed out on the squad due to illness.
“He went in yesterday because he didn’t feel well, so he went in,” Slot told reporters at Anfield. “That’s why he couldn’t be in the team today.”
Liverpool 2-1 West Ham
Nunez did, however, take up a place behind the substitutes to watch Liverpool’s 2-1 victory, with his presence despite claims of illness only leading to more speculation.
It is only the fourth game Nunez has been absent for this season, also missing clashes with Wolves in September and PSV Eindhoven in January with illness and January’s 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest due to suspension.
He had been unlikely to start regardless, with Slot only naming his No. 9 as part of the starting lineup twice in the last 15 games in which he has been available.
Nunez started against Tottenham in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg and then the 3-1 win over Southampton in the Premier League on March 8.
He has come off the bench in 12 of the other 13 games, only going unused in the 2-0 win over Man City in the league.
This latest development comes with a summer transfer expected, with Nunez still attracting interest from the Saudi Pro League after failed bids from Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr in January.
Clearly no longer favoured by his head coach – who is claimed to have viewed the 25-year-old as a long-term project upon his appointment last summer – it is likely that the striker is replaced.
Liverpool are known to hold an interest in Newcastle centre-forward Alexander Isak though a move is considered unlikely, with Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike another known target.
Darwin Nunez transfer fee – How much Liverpool have paid
Nunez swapped Benfica for Liverpool ahead of 2022/23 after two stellar performances against the Reds in the Champions League the season prior.
Benfica announced their deal with Liverpool as being worth a total of €100 million – or £85.36 million at the time in 2022.
That was made up of a guaranteed €75 million (£64.02m) and a further €25 million (£21.34m) negotiated in various performance-related add-ons.
Liverpool’s initial outlay was therefore not as much as the deals for Virgil van Dijk or Alisson, but add-ons would take it above that.
Liverpool have paid at least £76.8 million of the overall package to sign Nunez so far.
That includes the up-front fee of around £64 million – albeit with payments staggered over the length of his six-year contract – and another £12.8 million in appearance-based add-ons.
Reports in Portugal explained that Benfica would be owed around £4.3 million after Nunez made 10 appearances and a further £8.5 million after 60 appearances.
Nunez has so far played 138 times for Liverpool, with his 10th outing coming against Rangers in the Champions League in October 2022 and his 60th against Man City in November 2023.
The remaining £8.5 million and change is linked to “individual and collective performance of the team throughout the contract.”
