Liverpool told to sell Jurgen Klopp signing who is ‘not at the level’

Liverpool have been urged to ‘cut their losses’ on big-money signing Darwin Nunez and replace him with someone like Alexander Isak.

Nunez penned a six-year deal with Liverpool in 2022 after they signed the Uruguay striker from Benfica for an initial £64m.

Add-ons could take that fee up to a club-record £85m but it appears unlikely that the 22-year-old has activated enough of those bonuses with his inconsistent performances at Anfield.

Nunez was a prolific goalscorer for Benfica, scoring 34 goals in his final season at the club, but has failed to reproduce those numbers on Merseyside.

He scored 20 goals in the Premier League across his first two seasons at Liverpool and is one of the few players not to have improved under Jurgen Klopp’s replacement Arne Slot with just three goals in 20 games this term.

Given his inconsistent form, Nunez has started less than half of Liverpool’s league games this season and ex-Anfield winger Jermaine Pennant believes time is running out for the Uruguayan.

Pennant doubts Nunez is ‘at the level’ to play for Liverpool and believes his former club should ‘offload’ him to a European side.

‘I think Liverpool should cut their losses with Darwin Nunez,’ Pennant told Casino Apps. ‘He cost so much money and is up there with one of Liverpool’s highest-paid players.

‘He’s just not giving Liverpool what they paid for – yes, he works his socks off and the fans love him, bringing something different to the team, but ultimately you want goals.

‘Especially for that price tag, you expect returns to justify that fee, I think after this season – which is his third – we’re not going to see any improvement in the fourth or fifth.

‘This is it now, this is the final product of Darwin Nunez. No disrespect to him, but he’s not on the level as a player that Liverpool are as a team.

‘Liverpool has had some great number nines in the past, and Nunez falls short of them. I think it’d be wise to offload him somewhere in Europe and invest the money they get for him elsewhere.

‘There was all that chat when he joined being compared to Erling Haaland when he went to Manchester City, but he just hasn’t got up to speed in the Premier League like Haaland has.’

As to who he wants to replace misfiring Nunez, Pennant named Newcastle United striker Isak as someone he wants at Liverpool.

Isak has scored 43 goals in 83 appearances for Newcastle over the past three seasons, attracting interest from Arsenal and Chelsea.

‘I think Liverpool should be looking at signing Alexander Isak from Newcastle in January,’ Pennant added.

‘He scores every time he plays against Liverpool! Not only that, but he’s also a proven goalscorer and is a real handful for defenders.

‘His movement is great, he’s quick and can bring in other players as well. He has all the attributes of fantastic number nine.

‘That goal against Liverpool recently was all his creation, it was him getting the ball out of his feet and striking it into the back of the net and it’s not the first time we’ve seen that.’

It was suggested that Liverpool could suffer a dip in form following the emotional departure of Klopp but Slot’s side are top of both the Premier League and Champions League heading into the festive period.

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