Darwin Nunez must be replaced in the summer transfer window with a forward closer to Mohamed Salah's level, Reds transfer expert David Lynch has argued.
The Merseysiders were beaten 1-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 clash at Anfield, with the hosts losing 4-1 in the subsequent penalty shootout.
Nunez was one of two Liverpool players to miss their penalties alongside Curtis Jones, and the Uruguayan's effort arguably summed up his indifferent time at the club
Lynch told Sports Mole that it is imperative that the Reds look to give Mohamed Salah a suitable partner in the forward line, saying: "Darwin had a positive impact when he came on [in the first leg, but] it says a lot that he's not trusted to start in either because sometimes you get what you got last night. That's Darwin Nunez in a nutshell. He's plagued by inconsistency which prevents him from being elite.
"Liverpool need to rebalance. Going into the summer, someone closer to Salah's level [needs to] come in, and a vacancy will open up because I expect Darwin Nunez will depart. There's a question mark over Luis Diaz as well, albeit Liverpool would like to avoid that much churn, but we'll see. There'll be opportunities to change things there and strengthen and it's got to be one of the main aims of the summer."
Boss Arne Slot has only started Nunez 13 times in the Premier League and Champions League this season, and the Dutch manager has consistently shown more trust in Diaz and Diogo Jota.
Are Jota and Diaz good enough?
While there are doubts about the long-term future of Nunez on Merseyside, there has been increasing scrutiny on the other forwards at the club.
Diaz has scored one goal in his last 11 Premier League games - with the Colombian netting just three goals in his last 23 in the top flight - while Jota has continued to be plagued by injury issues.
Lynch argued that Liverpool should look to upgrade their depth across the forward line, telling Sports Mole: "Talking about Liverpool taking lessons from this and looking at PSG and seeing that that's the level they have to hit, I think that forward line is one area where Liverpool will think 'that's where we need to get improvement now, that's an area we can squeeze more out of.'
"Look at Kvaratskhelia, Dembele, Barcola, Doue. All of those have pace, physicality, unbelievable quality and they're the perfect mix of all three of those whereas Liverpool - you start Jota, brilliant penalty box finisher but his quality in and around the box can sometimes let him down and physically he's not there. Then Darwin Nunez - physically absolutely got all the qualities, but will let you down in terms of his finishing.
"Neither of them are the perfect solution at centre-forward which is why Liverpool have spent much of the season playing Luis Diaz there, so it's clearly an area where they can strengthen. The problem with Liverpool's forward line is that it's made up of Salah, who is at an unbelievably elite level, arguably the best forward in the world at the moment, but then the rest are very much a supporting cast."
Liverpool often looked to Salah whenever they struggled to escape PSG's man-to-man press, but the limited impact of the Reds' other attackers on Wednesday was stark.
© Imago
Salah and Slot's brilliance
Though the likes of Nunez, Diaz and Jota have struggled this campaign, the team have managed to get by and are on course to comfortably win the Premier League title.
Liverpool are in fact the leading goalscorers in the top flight, with Salah directly responsible for 44 of their 69 goals having netted on 27 occasions and produced 17 assists.
Lynch was keen to emphasise that both Salah and Slot have essentially mitigated the weaknesses up front thanks to their high performance and coaching levels in 2024-25, and that it is easy to see where the team could improve, telling Sports Mole: "The upside of last night - we're talking about weaknesses in the squad, areas to address and yet this manager has managed to romp to the Premier League title.
"I'm saying PSG are the best best team in Europe and are probably going to go on and win it, but Liverpool - if they slot their penalties they go through anyway. It shows you that Arne Slot has absolutely squeezed an awful lot out of this squad and has done a fantastic job this season.
"If you give him a couple of really high-quality players who can hit the ground running next season, Liverpool can be even better, so that is the exciting element about this. Of course, they have to get the signings right but Liverpool generally do, so the hope will be that they can do that. If they do and Arne Slot is given the right tools to succeed, next season we could see an even better version of Liverpool."
Liverpool have taken a more reserved approach in the transfer market in recent windows, so perhaps a squad overhaul is long overdue, especially if they want to get the best out of Salah.
Lewis Nolan
