Liverpool star Darwin Nunez left in no man’s land after brutal Man City snub

Arne Slot left Darwin Nunez on the bench during Liverpool’s big win at Manchester City, while Jamie Carragher reckons a new striker might arrive in the summer

Darwin Nunez may have run out of chances.

While Liverpool moved a big step closer to a second Premier League title by swatting Manchester City aside on Sunday, the Uruguayan remained stuck to his seat on the bench.

And with Jamie Carragher among those suggesting that centre-forward is one of three areas that the club will be looking to strengthen in the summer, the prospect of Nunez ending his big-money, low-success stint at Anfield is becoming more likely.

That latest miss in the midweek draw to Aston Villa looked like a turning point – even if the two dropped points are unlikely to derail their charge towards the trophy. But it is important to remember that Nunez has also won matches for the runaway leaders.

After the recent win at Brentford, when he was sprung from the bench to score two late goals, team-mates including Virgil van Dijk and Harvey Elliott were quick to back Nunez.

Slot, on the other hand, has offered both praise and measured criticism for a player who is equally capable of producing sublime and ridiculous.

He made it blatantly clear that he was disappointed by Nunez’s “behaviour” after the miss at Villa – or more accurately how his work ethic appeared to drop along with his head. And that, the Dutchman said, is one thing he can not tolerate.

Carragher, meanwhile, reckons a new No9 will be near the top of the wishlist this summer regardless of the futures of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold remaining unclear.

“Even if this team is going to win the league, I think there are still three positions in this team that can be improved quite a bit. It is not about bringing four or five squad players in,” he said.

“I think a left-back could come in, a centre-forward and an attacking midfielder. I am talking about coming into the team. You would expect Liverpool to have money to spend and that would be exciting.”

Yet for Nunez to go Liverpool will need to cut their losses.

He has already cost the club £76.8m pending other potential add-ons from the deal with Benfica. His contract, meanwhile, has three more years left to run.

And while the market for a striker will be hot this summer, with a host of clubs in the Premier League looking to strengthen, he will not be among the top choices for many.

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