Fabrizio Romano has revealed that one of Liverpool’s Premier League rivals attempted to raid Anfield for a current member of Jurgen Klopp’s squad last summer, only for the manager to give them short shrift.
In his Daily Briefing for CaughtOffside on Saturday morning, the Italian outlined that Chelsea ‘had conversations’ to try and land Darwin Nunez, but the Reds boss emphatically vetoed any possibility of selling the 24-year-old.
Romano wrote: “Chelsea, at the end of the last summer transfer window, in the final weeks where they were looking for a striker, they really tried to bring in Darwin Núñez.
“They really had conversations to make it happen but for Liverpool it was a clear ‘No.’ What I heard is that Jürgen Klopp said no to that move, and really wanted to keep a crucial player for the present and future of Liverpool, but Chelsea were super keen on Darwin Núñez.
“Let’s see if some clubs will approach Liverpool this summer or if Darwin will end up staying at Liverpool where he remains an important player.”
Even Nunez’s staunchest backers would have to admit that the Uruguayan has been worryingly ineffective for Liverpool in recent games, missing several glorious opportunities to score and plundering just one goal in his last seven league matches (Transfermarkt).
However, it would’ve been idiocy for the Reds to sell him to a fellow Premier League club, one who looked like they could’ve been a direct rival last summer, when you think back to the modest position from which we began the season and the ambitions that Mauricio Pochettino had at Stamford Bridge.
Also, the 24-year-old had only been at Anfield for a year at the time that Chelsea came calling and had netted 15 times in his debut campaign in England, so he definitely wasn’t a player in line for selling, certainly not when Bobby Firmino had already departed for Saudi Arabia.
There have been calls from some frustrated fans on social media to cash in on Nunez this summer if a decent offer comes in for him, but like Romano outlined, he ‘remains an important player’ at Anfield despite being off form recently.
Liverpool certainly shouldn’t be in any hurry to shepherd their number 9 out the door.
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