Liverpool's enthralling campaign is fizzling out, and the promise that had been building over many months of toil will not culminate in the golden glow that the fanbase envisaged as Jurgen Klopp enters the final few weeks of management at Anfield.
While Liverpool clinched the Carabao Cup with an emphatic victory over Chelsea in the final back in February, the recent slide in form will yield no further silverware and, given the one-dimensional approach the squad has demonstrated over the past few months, perhaps this is the right time for change.
FSG's CEO of Football Michael Edwards and Anfield's new sporting director Richard Hughes dispelled any fears of a protracted process and moved quickly to land Arne Slot as the German's successor.
Slot has many qualities that Liverpool fans should get excited about and he will hope to push his booming thrash-metal style of play onto the squad without seam, continuing Klopp's work but shifting the team to his shape.
However, there is a mountain of in-squad issues that need sorting swiftly, and success in this regard could serve as the tone-setter throughout the summer months and into the new campaign.
Arne Slot's biggest issues at Liverpool
Understandably, there are brewing concerns within Liverpool supporter circles that captain Virgil van Dijk, vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold and attacking talisman Mohamed Salah are all out of contract at the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth understands that Hughes will focus first on settling each situation but that concrete negotiations are not believed to have been initiated at this point.
Veterans Thiago Alcantara, Adrian and Joel Matip's deals will expire this summer but none are expected to extend their stay on Merseyside.
When these pressing concerns have been confronted, Liverpool will inevitably turn toward further areas for improvement, with the quandary that is Darwin Nunez, Liverpool's £85m club-record signing, persisting like an irritating pebble in Anfield's proverbial boot.
Darwin Nunez's season in numbers
Nunez certainly had his fair share of detractors throughout the 2022/23 season, his first as a Liverpool player, with pundit Frank McAvennie claiming that "some clubs are too big for certain players" when discussing the 24-year-old's poor form.
And while his careless shooting has persisted, Nunez's return of 18 goals and 13 assists from 51 appearances in all competitions – including just 33 starts – in 2023/24 suggests that improvements have been made, with Klopp even dubbing him "unstoppable" on his day.
Darwin Nunez
62
20
46
Erling Haaland
62
57
58
Haaland might have missed a catalogue of chances across his two campaigns in the Premier League but the respective forwards are still diametrically opposed when it comes to finishing ability, as the table above highlights.
Sure, Nunez has a range of impressive qualities that make him a more complete, more influential forward, but Liverpool have many forward players with such traits – what has proved bitterly costly in the recent slump has been Nunez's profligacy.
As per FBref, Nunez ranks among the top 1% of forwards across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for shots taken and touches in the attacking penalty area but only among the top 21% for goals scored per 90.
Klopp has previously remarked that the Uruguayan is a "long-term project" for Liverpool but if he continues to squander golden opportunities in front of goal there will come a point where a new, reliable goalscorer will be landed, especially given the uncertainty surrounding Salah's future.
Even more so when the striker's cost is taken into account.
How much has Darwin Nunez cost Liverpool
While there are a host of Reds stars earning prettier pay packets, Nunez is already in the upper echelon in regard to salary. However, when considering the player's earnings since he arrived in June 2022, it's staggering to see that Nunez has already earned just short of £14m.
Mohamed Salah
£350k-per-week
Virgil van Dijk
£220k-per-week
Thiago Alcantara
£200k-per-week
Trent Alexander-Arnold
£180k-per-week
Alexis Mac Allister
£150k-per-week
Ryan Gravenberch
£150k-per-week
Alisson Becker
£150k-per-week
Diogo Jota
£140k-per-week
Darwin Nunez
£140k-per-week
When combining that with Nunez's £85m price tag, albeit including add-ons, it can be deduced that he has already taken Liverpool's total outlay to just short of £99m.
When considering that Luis Diaz and Joe Gomez, for example, earn salaries of £55k per week and £85k per week respectively, it's clear to see just how much faith was invested in Nunez when he joined from Benfica almost two years ago.
Highlighting the disparity between Diaz and Nunez, for example, is the respective levels of output and commitment in recent matches as Liverpool struggle, with the Colombian being given an 8/10 match rating during his side's recent Premier League draw against West Ham United by the Liverpool Echo's Ian Doyle.
Nunez didn't start that game, a by-product of his recent issues, with Doyle branding him with a 4/10 score as Liverpool's fading Premier League title hopes were eradicated at Goodison Park in midweek, losing all five of his duels and failing to even attempt a dribble to underscore his woes.
Slot might not have the same managerial powers as his predecessor when he joins the Anfield side but he will have some sway when it comes to his preferences regarding his squad.
Liverpool eyeing "fantastic" £60m+ statement signing for Slot
This would be one of the deals of the summer…
ByTom CunninghamMay 2, 2024
It's unlikely that Nunez will be sold this summer – according to The Athletic's David Ornstein – but that certainly doesn't mean that the Merseysiders should shirk away from securing a more prolific talisman if the chance arises.
It might just prove the difference in how Slot's maiden campaign in England shapes up, and it might just dictate how swiftly fans accept a man not named Jurgen Klopp in the Anfield dugout.