Liverpool Eyes Reunion with Darwin Núñez as Iraola Rebuilds
The summer exodus at Anfield has not paused to catch its breath. Mohamed Salah gone. Andy Robertson gone. Ibrahima Konaté seemingly Real Madrid-bound.
Into that turbulence, a familiar name has suddenly reappeared on Liverpool’s radar: Darwin Núñez.
Anfield in flux, Iraola under pressure
Andoni Iraola walks into a dressing room stripped of some of its defining figures. His first year in charge will be less about fine-tuning and more about repair work, correcting what the club views as missteps in the final Arne Slot era.
There are holes everywhere in this squad. Depth issues up front are particularly stark. Liverpool need bodies, but they also need profiles they understand, players who can hit the ground running in a system that will demand intensity and constant movement.
That is where Núñez, improbably, comes back into view.
From record buy to free agent
Signed by Jürgen Klopp in the summer of 2022 for a hefty fee and even heftier expectations, Núñez never truly became the ruthless finisher Liverpool thought they were buying. His time at Anfield is remembered as chaotic and compelling in equal measure: a Premier League title winner, yes, but also a striker who left as many chances on the pitch as he buried.
After leaving Liverpool, Núñez moved to the Saudi Pro League with Al-Hilal at the start of the 2025/26 campaign. The numbers tell a familiar story. Nine goals in 24 appearances, his final outing in February bringing a brace in a 2-1 AFC Champions League Elite win over Al-Wahda.
Then the door shut.
Al-Hilal cut him from their squad due to foreign player limits, and his contract has now been mutually terminated. At 26, Núñez is back on the market, a free agent with a complicated CV and a very specific reputation.
Liverpool at the table
According to TEAMtalk, Núñez has been offered to a select group of clubs, with Liverpool “firmly at the table.” Benfica, where he exploded onto the European scene, are expected to challenge for his signature, and there are whispers in Spain that the forward has already given the green light to a return to Anfield.
If that proves accurate, Liverpool would be bringing back a player they once broke the bank for, this time at no transfer cost.
For a club reshaping its wage bill and squad profile after major departures, that kind of opportunity is hard to ignore.
The same old Darwin?
What hasn’t changed is the finishing.
In Saudi Arabia, Núñez scored six league goals from a huge 11.48 xG. The gap between the chances he generates and the goals he scores remains glaring. That pattern will be painfully familiar to Liverpool supporters.
- 2023/24 Premier League: 11 goals, 27 Big Chances Missed.
- 2022/23 Premier League: 9 goals, 20 Big Chances Missed.
He dragged defences all over the pitch, created chaos, constantly found himself in scoring positions. Then squandered far too many of them.
That duality defines the debate around him. Is he a wasteful luxury, or an xG machine whose sheer volume of chances eventually tilts the odds in his favour?
Why a reunion makes sense
For Iraola, the calculation is different from Klopp’s. He is not inheriting a fully formed, title-chasing squad. He is trying to assemble one.
Liverpool’s attacking depth is thin heading into his first season. A free transfer for a 26-year-old forward who already knows the club, the league and the scrutiny that comes with the shirt offers undeniable value. Even if Núñez is not the starting No 9, he can be a disruptive, high-volume option in rotation, an outlet when games become stretched and chaotic.
He remains an xG magnet. His movement still drags centre-backs into places they don’t want to go. He will miss chances. He will also keep creating them.
For a Liverpool side in transition, the question is no longer whether Darwin Núñez can be the flawless spearhead of a new era. It is whether his flawed, frantic, chance-heavy game is exactly the kind of risk this new regime is willing to take.
