Liverpool finally take notice of Jamie Carragher transfer warning with Darwin Nunez deal

Premier League transfer news and rumours

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Liverpool will finally have an orthodox striker in their arsenal if they manage to land a deal for Benfica’s coveted hotshot Darwin Nunez – over a year after Jamie Carragher urged Jurgen Klopp to sign a proper No.9. A host of top European clubs are tracking the Uruguayan striker, who is expected to leave Benfica this summer.

Liverpool are now seemingly in pole position to land Nunez in the coming weeks despite competition from elsewhere, with The Mirror reporting that the 22-year-old favours a move to Anfield. And if the two sides can thrash out a deal, then the Reds will finally have the out-and-out striker they’ve lacked for years; something that Carragher alluded to last February.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the Liverpool icon previously said: “You look at Bobby Firmino and Liverpool’s attacking players, they don’t actually have a striker. Jota is not a striker, same with Mane, same with Salah. They have Divock Origi but he’s nowhere near good enough. And he a lot of the time plays out wide, because he can’t play as a centre-forward.

“So Firmino plays that role but we always talk about him being a ‘false nine’, he’s not actually an out-and-out striker. I think Liverpool could do with bringing a striker in, just to shake things up and primarily someone who gets goals.

“I think there’s too much pressure on those two players at the top of the pitch to score goals. If they don’t score, Liverpool don’t look like scoring.”

Nunez is one of the hottest striking prospects in Europe and landing the sought-after hitman would represent a major coup for the Reds – even if they do have to shell out a substantial fee in order to acquire his services.

A deal for Nunez would be a timely boost for Liverpool, who seem destined to lose Sadio Mane this summer. The 30-year-old – who has just over 12 months remaining on his current deal – has hinted that he’s keen to seek a new challenge away from Anfield and has already been the subject of two failed bids from Bayern Munich.

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Replacing Mane with Nunez would be a change in tact from Liverpool and would tie in well with Carragher’s advice from last February. The Reds have not struggled for goals, even without an out-and-out No.9, but if Mane departs, the pressure will be firmly on the likes of Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz to produce the goods on a weekly basis – signing Nunez could be help Liverpool’s attack to evolve to the next level.

Nunez has already made a major impression on a number of influential figures in the Reds camp, including Klopp, who tipped the striker for the very top after he found the net against Liverpool in the Champions League.

Jota also hailed Nunez as a “very good player” when he was asked on Liverpool’s interest in the striker earlier this week, while Virgil van Dijk claimed earlier in the season that the Benfica star was named as one of the Dutchman’s five toughest ever opponents. Van Dijk said: “He’s a bit similar [to Haaland] – very direct, quick, tall, strong and it’s quite difficult to play against him.”

All the signs are positive for Liverpool, who have garnered a reputation for stealing a march on their rivals with their astute transfer business. They did it with the signing of Diaz back in January, and they could be about to do it again with Nunez.

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