Liverpool fans had been hoping this would be the season Darwin Nunez truly broke out of his shell at Anfield.

The Uruguayan has been a divisive figure ever since joining the Reds back in 2022, but had a season of progress in 2023/24.

It was not all good and Nunez actually ended the season under a bit of a cloud.



But having scored 18 goals and hit 13 assists, he looked in good shape to thrive under Arne Slot.

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Slot talked Nunez up during his early press conferences at Liverpool and there were signs that the 25-year-old was exactly what he wanted from a centre-forward.

However, having come back to training late following the Copa America, Nunez has never really been able to get going under Slot.

And after the Liverpool head coach made a disappointing admission ahead of Sunday’s trip to Leicester City, it’s now clear why Nunez has never been able to succeed with the Reds.

Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images

Talent should never have really been the problem for Nunez at Liverpool.

And, in our opinion, it hasn’t been.

The Uruguay striker is good enough to play for any team on the planet when he applies himself and has shown to varying degrees just how good he can be.

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Instead, the issue for Darwin has always been the mental side of the game.

Whether it’s confidence, application or focus, something has usually been missing.

This has been brought into the spotlight once again by Slot, who claimed that Nunez missed last weekend’s game with West Ham because he ‘didn’t feel himself.’

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“No, he didn’t [have a falling-out],” Slot said.

He didn’t feel himself.”

Slot’s words brought home the fact that Nunez cannot be – and perhaps never has been – a reliable option for him as Liverpool’s starting striker.

An £80m player should never really be missing matches, and important ones at that, for these kinds of reasons.

Mohamed Salah, by contrast, has been steelily determined to make a success of himself at Liverpool by hook or by crook.

He has barely missed a game in years, let alone for anything such as this.

If Nunez is struggling mentally then it is important he gets the help he needs and every Liverpool fan, player and employee will stand by him in that.

It takes a special kind of mindset to play for a club the size of Liverpool, though, and while Nunez will leave with the best wishes of everyone and a Premier League winners medal around his neck, he has clearly never had it.
For more news relating to West Ham, visit our sister site WHU Latest Live.