Arne Slot confirms serious Darwin Nunez talks with Reds future in doubt

In the aftermath of Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Aston Villa, Arne Slot was forthright in his appraisal of the misfiring Darwin Nunez.

It’s a horrible thing to have to say, but there are fewer moments more uninspiring for a Liverpool fan than seeing a relatively easy chance fall to Nunez.

Such was the case again at Villa Park as Dominik Szoboszlai raced through one-on-one with Emi Martinez, only for him to square it to the Reds’ Uruguayan striker who was closing in on a relatively empty net at breakneck speed.

Merely having to tap the ball in, Nunez instead opted to loft the ball to avoid the covering Axel Disasi, and in doing so proceeded to miss the target entirely. Had that ball found the back of the gaping goal, Liverpool would likely have run out winners and further extended their lead at the summit of the Premier League.

Replays showed that it was not as easy a chance as it first appeared, but was nonetheless the kind of chance you would hope that a striker for a team chasing a title would gobble up with little difficulty.

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Therefore it was no surprise to hear Slot reflect on this in his post-match interview with TNT Sports. “If you look at the chances we had in the second half, there is one player in the dressing room who feels quite down. You know who it is.”

Particularly damning was the tone of that last sentence, delivered in such a way that conveyed the disappointment all connected to Liverpool felt at Nunez missing yet another presentable opportunity. His immediate post-match reaction has also drawn ire, although it is hard to truly tell what was running through his mind given we often see images of players speaking to one another seemingly devoid of wider context.

Of course, there should be some perspective. Nunez is so low on confidence it is almost palpable, and it’s not like Diogo Jota didn’t miss some glorious chances earlier in the game either.

However, it feels like the prevailing narrative with Nunez makes such a wasted opportunity stick out further, to the point where there was even the suggestion post-match on the broadcast by Reds legend Robbie Fowler that it was one of the misses of the season.

Frankly, it was by no means the miss of the season, but it feels like the story has been written with Nunez and nothing will change that. In truth, this was the first “big chance” that Nunez has failed to at least put on target for a while, and in the past you could at least level that his confidence was usually not knocked by such glaring misses. This sadly, doesn’t seem to be the case any longer.

Speaking on Thursday morning in his press conference, Slot revealed that he will need to talk to the Uruguayan about his performance:

'I can accept every miss, especially from a player who scored two important goals against Brentford. What is harder for me to accept is the behaviour after that chance. It was not the usual Darwin who works his ass off. He was too disappointed at missing,' Slot said.

'I think he was too disappointed after missing that chance and maybe, we will never find out, that's why he was just a fraction short the moment afterwards.

'So, it's not about the chance for me, it's more about the twenty minutes afterwards that I want to talk to him about rather than about him missing a chance.'

Undoubtedly Nunez will be replaced sooner rather than later, but there is still room for him to make an impact as the Reds chase silverware to end the season.

As supporters we are quick to forget his game-winning brace off the bench against Brentford just over a month ago, and there is no reason not to think that Nunez can still come up with big moments, as long as the frustrating moments can be lived with up until his seemingly inevitable sale.

Which will likely happen come the end of the season. As Anfield Watch revealed exclusively, the Reds will be looking to sell Nunez this summer.

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