Jurgen Klopp forced Liverpool to sign Nunez instead of Premier League striker
According to a report, Liverpool recruitment staff wanted to sign another Premier League striker instead of Darwin Nunez.
It was Reds manager Jurgen Klopp who persuaded the club to sign the Uruguayan striker.
Nunez signed in an £85 million deal to join Liverpool from Benfica in the summer of 2022, but he hasn’t quite lived up to the hype since his arrival.
The striker has scored 33 times in 92 appearances for the Merseyside club.
Nunez wasn’t initially desired by Liverpool’s recruiting staff, according to The Times, but Klopp was able to convince them to pursue Nunez rather than Christopher Nkunku of Chelsea.
Before suffering a major injury during the preseason, Nkunku was expected to perform well for Chelsea after joining the club in the summer for £53 million.
That sidelined him for around three months, but he has subsequently been sidelined by hip and hamstring issues.
Liverpool recruitment team wanted Nkunku at the club as they felt he was the right player to be the long term replacement of Reds fan favourite Roberto Firmino.
Before moving to Chelsea last summer, he made 172 appearances for Leipzig and scored 70 goals.
Nunez has only managed to score eleven Premier League goals this season, in a season when Liverpool have struggled for goals.
Injuries in different parts of the season to Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah have hampered Liverpool’s season.
The Merseyside club’s need for a reliable goal scorer was felt in their 2-0 defeat against Everton, a result which possibly ended their chances of winning the Premier League.
Klopp rues missed chances from Liverpool players
Liverpool boss Klopp claimed after the match that his players should have finished the chances at Goodison Park.
He said, as reported by TNT Sports: “We created a lot and didn’t score in the first half. And then in the second half, a lot of emotions, we’re in a rush, not really clear enough.
“Then you concede the second goal with a routine they do all season. We knew exactly the ball would end up there, we just didn’t defend well enough… They had a free-kick after free-kick, that’s one part of the story as well.”
The Reds are now three points behind Arsenal in the Premier League title race.
Klopp’s men face David Moyes’ West Ham United in the early kick-off on Saturday.
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