Arne Slot revealed in his pre-match press conference on Friday morning that he will finally enforce some rotation across Liverpool’s final four Premier League matches of the season.
It’s taken him long enough, but then who can blame the Dutch manager for sticking to his guns, now crowned the division’s champion in his maiden year on English soil?
The business end of the 2024/25 league campaign has been navigated with a confident swagger for those of a Liverpool persuasion, with their team strutting far out ahead of second-place Arsenal, who themselves have held a healthy advantage over the rest of the Champions League hopefuls.
For those looking at the Anfield side from an outside perspective, it might seem like there’s a lot of work that needs to be done: Andy Robertson has faced criticism for his performances, Trent Alexander-Arnold is expected to join Real Madrid on a free transfer this summer and Slot’s frontline hasn’t always fired across every cylinder.
While Mohamed Salah has been a true talisman, posting 33 goals and 23 assists across all competitions, his attacking partners have flattered to deceive at times, with none more culpable than Darwin Nunez.
No road back for Darwin Nunez
Tough season for Nunez. In fact, the 25-year-old has looked so far away from the vision that Slot wants from his striker that his exit is all but confirmed this season, with Liverpool actively planning to cash in while already searching for potential heirs.
Nunez has only returned seven goals this year, and it’s a bleak indictment of his performances that 37 of those 43 matches he has featured in have returned blanks. That is not the form of a club-record Liverpool striker, one whose total payment could reach £85m.
While Slot was quick to dismiss claims that Nunez is being repeatedly benched due to a clause that means his 50th Premier League start would impel Liverpool to pay Benfica an additional £5m sum, the fact remains that the Uruguay international has been used sparingly this season.
In fact, he’s only started once in the top flight since Boxing Day.
Frankly, it’s hard to envisage a world where Nunez lines up as Anfield’s chief centre-forward next season, not after falling heavily by the wayside under Slot’s wing.
Liverpool, for sure, are ready to sign a new forward.
Liverpool ready to sign new forward
Liverpool have identified a new attacking star, and while he might not be an out-and-out frontman, Daizen Maeda has all the qualities to become a valued part of Slot’s frontline.
That’s according to transfer insider Graeme Bailey, making the claim that the 27-year-old, who can play across the frontline, is attracting interest from both Arsenal and Slot’s Reds ahead of the summer transfer window.
Valued at £25m, Maeda has been scouted by Liverpool across the campaign and would certainly be curious at a transfer to Anfield, having been quizzed on a potential transfer away from Scotland in March and responding that it was a “difficult question.”
Daizen Maeda would be perfect for Slot
Discovered by Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou, who signed Maeda from Yokohama F Marinos on an initial loan in December 2021 before the deal was made permanent the following summer, it’s been a profitable few years in Scotland for the Japan international.
Described as an “absolute nuisance” of a forward by pundit Rio Ferdinand, Maeda’s ability to provide danger from every angle is something that differentiates him from most other forwards, having also been noted as a “physical beast” by his former coach John Hutchinson.
This season alone, he’s posted 33 goals and 11 assists across 47 appearances for the Hoops, which curiously means he has outscored Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak, who has posted 26 goals this term and is on Liverpool’s list as a potential Nunez replacement, albeit an unlikely signing given he is valued at £150m.
His ability to step up in the Champions League, scoring four times in the competition this season, including against Bayern Munich in the first knockout round, makes a firm comment on his capacity for success at Liverpool, with the physicality to serve as Slot’s next version of Nunez, one who might provide a more clinical output.
While he hasn’t always been the most consistent in front of goal, Maeda is a tireless performer and possesses fleet feet besides.
Matches (starts)
31 (27)
Goals
16
Assists
9
Shots (on targets)*
1.8 (0.6)
Big chances missed
16
Pass completion
83%
Big chances created
10
Key passes*
1.3
Dribbles*
0.7
Tackles + interceptions*
1.7
Duels won*
3.1
Some would point toward Maeda playing in a division of objectively inferior quality, but the fact that he has converted 16 goals and missed as many chances bespeaks his natural goalscoring ability, something that has been hardened under Brendan Rodgers’ wing to be sure.
Nunez, for reference, has scored 25 goals across his three years in the Premier League, rather shockingly missing 53 big chances.
Though Maeda isn’t the natural central striker that Liverpool fans hope to walk through the door this summer, he has clinched 14 goals and four assists from just ten matches as Celtic’s striker.
Slot has already demonstrated his willingness to use such a dynamic profile across different attacking roles through the deployment of Luis Diaz across the campaign, with the Colombian having featured routinely in a central berth to accommodate Cody Gakpo and create an electric sense of fluency.
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Maeda would merely strengthen this exciting thread of attacking players, with the confidence and completeness to effectively step into Nunez’s boots and take Liverpool’s project to the next level.
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