Not Wirtz or Isak: Liverpool's "nervous wreck" at risk of becoming Nunez 2.0
Liverpool made sweeping changes in the summer transfer window, going where no team had gone before in spending more than £400m in a single transfer window.
A multitude of sales meant the total net spend fell behind Premier League leaders Arsenal, but the scale of Liverpool’s transformation cannot be understated, with FSG breaking the British transfer record twice.
First, Florian Wirtz arrived from Bayer Leverkusen for £116m, and the world-class playmaker has been one of the most worrying parts of Arne Slot’s side’s struggles this season, yet to score or assist in the top flight.
Alexander Isak has been a concern too, signing on deadline day for £125m. The former Newcastle United striker was called “the best striker in the Premier League” by Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher last year, but injuries and a struggle to click under Slot’s wing have left him with one goal and one assist across all competitions so far.
These players have to come good. Surely they will. These are two of the world’s finest, after all. However, the blunder of the Darwin Nunez deal serves as a cautionary tale that FSG perhaps haven’t heeded.
Why Liverpool sold Darwin Nunez
Nunez is one of the biggest and most frustrating enigmas of recent times at Liverpool. A maverick of a forward, the 25-year-old was horribly inconsistent across his three years at the club, only scoring 25 Premier League goals in total and missing so many more golden opportunities.
Given that he signed from Benfica for what would have been a club-record £85m fee (not reached due to clauses being left unmet), Nunez can only be considered a flop of a signing, never able to string together the prolificness needed to lead the line at Liverpool.
The likes of Wirtz and Isak will be worried that they face assuming similar reputations, no doubt, although both have arrived at Liverpool from a higher station than Nunez, who was sold to Al-Hilal this summer.
In any case, Nunez will be remembered fondly for his efforts and, for the most part, tenacity in a Liverpool shirt, but it’s clear that had Liverpool’s fortunes been bleaker across his years at the club, he would have faced more scathing rebuke.
And that might be the case for one new Redman. This player arrived this summer for a hefty fee and looks utterly lost in Slot’s system. In this, he is in danger of falling into a similar category.
The Liverpool star in danger of becoming Nunez 2.0
Signed from Bournemouth this summer for a £45m fee, Kerkez arrived at Liverpool with a weight of expectation and a reputation as one of the most exciting young left-backs in the world.
He was breathtaking in Andoni Iraola’s team last year, but Kerkez has fallen by the wayside across the opening months of his move to Merseyside.
Kerkez’s transfer fee might come in at less than half of that of someone like Nunez, but this is still a pretty penny for a full-back, and he faces a plummet into similar territory as the Uruguayan if he fails to hit a consistent vein of form.
There’s no question that this young man has what it takes to thrive at Liverpool; he was included in the 2024/25 PFA Team of the Year, after all.
However, Kerkez has really struggled across these opening months in Liverpool, a shadow of that south coast star.
Erratic and at odds with the tactical role that has been provided for him, the 22-year-old has lost his place in the starting line-up in recent weeks, unable to effectively add to the build-up.
Last season, Kerkez ranked among the top 12% of Premier League full-backs for progressive carries per 90 (2.86), but this has been reduced under Slot’s wing, ranking among the bottom 36% this year, with a 1.55 average (data courtesy of FBref).
But the wider shift of Kerkez’s tactical role is more clearly understood when looking at the wider scope of his malaise since that big-money transfer to Liverpool.
Matches (starts)
38 (38)
10 (9)
Goals
2
1
Assists
5
0
Touches*
59.6
50.8
Accurate passes*
28.6 (80%)
27.5 (86%)
Chances created*
1.0
0.5
Dribble (success)*
0.6
0.3
Recoveries*
4.7
2.7
Tackles + interceptions*
2.6
1.6
Clearances*
2.6
3.4
Duels won*
4.0 (54%)
3.7 (61%)
Errors made
4x
2x
The £75k-per-week talent is no longer making those overlapping runs into the box, and neither has he found fluency and balance in his creativity this season. Given that he has been branded a “nervous wreck” by pundit Jamie Redknapp, it’s hard to see what he is offering his new club at this present moment, and that is why he has been benched for the Reds’ past two matches in both the Premier League and the Champions League.
Of course, it is far too early to write Kerkez off, and this argument has been formed to underline the need for improvements on Kerkez’s part, but also with the hope for patience. This is a young and talented left-back who is struggling to perform in a system that has malfunctioned across the past several months.
Let’s not forget how Robertson struggled to adapt in Klopp’s team after joining from relegated Hull City for about £8m in 2016. Imagine if Liverpool had sold the Scotsman after that up-and-down maiden year, written him off before he ripened.
Equally, we cannot ignore the depths of Kerkez’s struggles since joining Liverpool, so incongruent on the flank of Slot’s system.
Given the coach’s need for hearty contribution from his full-backs in the build-up, it’s somewhat confusing that Kerkez has been signed for a big-money fee; he is an athletic, touchline-hugging kind of player, darting up and down and getting involved in attacks and stretching the width of his side.
Whether Liverpool fashion a superstar out of this young Hungarian is anyone’s guess at this stage, but we know he needs to do more, lest he fall into a similar category as Nunez before him, signed for a big fee after hitting heights in a smaller sphere but ultimately tripping up when heading down Anfield Road and putting on the heavy Liverpool shirt.
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