Darwin Núñez out, new striker in for Liverpool?

Hello, and welcome back. We hope you had a lovely holiday. It’s been a while since we’ve done a transfer rumour roundup, and with the window now officially open, I thought it would be a good way to get back into the swing of things. —KM

Liverpool have enjoyed a lovely start to Arne Slot’s reign as manager, but Darwin Núñez is one of the only Reds not currently having a good time. He was linked to a move away this summer, but Liverpool decided on giving him another shot under the new boss instead of aggressively shopping him. He’s scored just 4 times in 23 appearances, and it ‘s probably time for Liverpool to get some of their money back before his value declines further.

A lot of journofluencers are reporting a potential Núñez exit, and here’s one from Rudy Galetti as proof I didn’t just make that up myself. Over the summer, we speculated that a £50m-ish move to Arsenal could work out nicely for all parties. I have pulled that part of the story out of my behind, but I still think it’s a really good idea for everyone involved.

If Núñez departs Liverpool, they’re likely to sign a forward, and the biggest link to pop up in recent days is Marcus Thuram of Inter Milan. The aforementioned Galetti article mentions him as a Liverpool target, as do all the usual Italian-language suspects. He had a solid first season at Inter with 13 goals in a title-winning campaign, but he’s taken another step forward this year. Thuram’s just about matched his goal total from the previous campaign in half the minutes this year, scoring 12 goals in 17 appearances.

Thuram is unique in his combination of aerial and dribbling ability. He started his career as a left winger who liked to cut inside and shoot from the edge of the box, and he’s retained those skills as he’s transitioned into a center forward role. This is a lovely well-rounded player.

Thuram is also 6’4” (192 cm) with great leaping ability, and Inter have used that skill to great effect on crosses and set pieces. A big part of why Thuram is overperforming his xG is that he’s converted a bunch of sub-0.2 xG chances with his noggin.

Thuram reportedly has a release clause of €85m, which would be a lot to spend on a 27-year-old who has only started to look like an elite striker for the first time in his career this season. But if Liverpool are looking for a Núñez-like substance who’s just more consistently productive, Thuram fits that profile very well. He’s a hard working and physically imposing striker who can win aerial duels and dribble. His first touch and passing aren’t quite up to the standard of other strikers that get linked to these big money moves, but he commits quite a few fewer crap turnovers than Núñez.

If Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk sign new contracts, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to make one outlier “bad financial decision” to add an immediate upgrade and maximize the last couple years their two icons have at the top of the game. I don’t think there’s any doubt that swapping Núñez for Thuram would make Liverpool immediately better. They just can’t make a habit of overpaying for short-term payoffs.

More news and rumours

• Manchester United update: They’re still reluctantly willing to let go of their worst, most overpaid players, if you ask really nicely.

• Also, United have already given up on Joshua Zirkzee. Really good summer business, that. Juventus have been linked, but I’m guessing that’s just by his agent, rather than concrete interest? Yes, they employ his former manager, but there are no fresh rumours of a Dušan Vlahović exit, and Victor Osimhen wants to join them. This might be a controversial take, but I would rather have Osimhen than Zirkzee.

• Ruben Amorim apparently rates Randal Kolo Muani, who PSG are trying to pawn off on anyone who will take his wages off their books. If Viktor Gyökeres decides to prioritize playing for a good team over reuniting with his old boss, a loan for Kolo Muani seems like a sensible backup plan. Or United could spend £50m+ to buy him outright because they’re completely insane, who knows?

• The Ornacle says Aston Villa are in negotiations to sign Donyell Malen from Dortmund. Malen hasn’t gotten a ton of playing time this year and has struggled, but he was really productive last season. Definitely a Watkins-like substance.

• The vultures are circling Dani Olmo, who Barcelona are struggling to register under La Liga’s salary cap rules. They’re confident the documents they’re submitting to La Liga this week will allow them to resolve this issue, but the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal are ON ALERT, which is quite a dramatic term for football transfer rumour rags. As if he’s threatening to launch nuclear missiles. In any event, it wouldn’t be shocking to see a Premier League club take Olmo on a 6-month loan while Barca sort themselves out.

• The easiest way to alleviate the problem would be yeeting Frenkie de Jong, and I can’t tell if he’s delusional or trolling at this point. “I will see what the club wants to do with me,” he told Dutch outlet VI. Frenkie, buddy, I don’t know how to tell you this, but: They’ve wanted you to piss off for FOUR YEARS. She’s just not that into you! Take a hint!

• Hilariously, Barcelona have also been linked to Liverpool’s Luis Díaz. They can’t even register the players already on their books, I feel like I am going insane.

• Fun with clickbait: Arsenal have LEAPT TO THE FRONT OF THE QUEUE for Omar Marmoush and could TURN HIS HEAD with a MONSTER bid!!! Marmoush is really good and will probably move to a top club this summer, but Frankfurt are involved in a tight Champions League race and are not broke. They’ll tell him he can’t leave until the end of the season and he’ll probably accept that. Sorry to be a Negative Nancy.

• Athletic Bilbao seem resigned to losing Nico Williams to someone with a lot of money soon, and they’re eyeing up Norwich’s Borja Sainz as a potential replacement. Sainz played at their academy as a very young kid before moving to Alavés and making his pro debut at the other other other Basque club. As Ted pointed out, he’s been very productive, and Norwich could be very willing sellers.

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