Liverpool are flying this season. Arne Slot’s side have been the best side in the Premier League, sitting top of the table 15 games into his first campaign in charge at Anfield. It is fair to say that the transition from legendary manager Jurgen Klopp to new boss Slot has been seamless.
Statistically, they have been fantastic. As per Understat, Liverpool have the second-highest number of expected goals, with 33.91, slightly more than they have scored. They also have an excellent expected goals against record, with 14.63; incredibly, they are outperforming that stat, having conceded just 11 Premier League goals, the best in the league.
As well as the team is performing, however, one of their star players, Darwin Nunez is not having his best season.
Nunez’s stats in 2024/25
It has been a tough campaign so far for the Uruguayan striker. Nunez came with a huge weight of expectation on his shoulders, given the fee Liverpool paid for him. He cost an initial £64m to prise from Benfica, but it was a deal that could rise as high as £85m including add-ons.
Nunez has, in essence, underwhelmed at Anfield so far. He has played 115 games for the club, but has found the back of the net on just 32 different occasions and has 19 assists to his name, a total of 0.44 goals and assists per game.
It seemed like he was finding form last season. Nunez had 11 goals and eight assists in 36 Premier League games. However, he has been poor under Slot, with three goals and two assists in 19 games across all competitions.
There will surely be concern amongst Liverpool’s backroom staff at the form of their number nine. Their other attackers are not finding goals hard to come by; Mohamed Salah has 16 to his name, Luis Diaz has nine goals and Cody Gakpo has scored eight times.
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With the Reds needing a better contribution from their strikers, they could well look to bring in a new centre-forward to enhance the quality of their forward line. They have been linked with a deadly striker in recent weeks.
Liverpool's search for a striker
The player in question here is Sporting centre-forward Viktor Gyokeres. According to a report from Florian Plettenberg in November, Liverpool are “currently in the race” to sign the Sweden international.
They are competing with the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea for his signature, and the striker could cost around £57m.
There is no doubt that, from a goals point of view, Gyokeres would be an upgrade on Nunez. He has been phenomenal this term, with 25 goals and four assists in just 23 games across all competitions. He has also scored over 50 goals in 2024. It has been a year of seismic proportion for the Sporting man.
Interestingly, a statistical comparison can be drawn between Gyokeres and Liverpool legend Luis Suarez, as per FBref. Now 37, the former Barcelona star plies his trade in the MLS for Inter Miami. He scored 82 goals in 133 games for the Merseysiders, and those are numbers the Sweden striker would be hoping to hit.
According to FBref, the former Liverpool talisman averaged 0.94 goals per game last season, with Sporting striker Gyokeres impressively exceeding that number, with 1.33. Not only that, he has a better expected goals tally than Suarez, with 1.09 compared to 0.63 for the Uruguayan.
It is perhaps worth mentioning Nunez’s stats in relation to those numbers, too. In 2024/25, the Reds number nine has so far averaged 0.29 goals per game and an expected goals per game of just 0.3
Gyokeres (2024/25)
Suarez (2024)
Nunez (2024/25)
1.33
0.94
0.29
1.09xG
0.63xG
0.3xG
1.56
2.21
1.01
0.5
0.43
0.29
5.77
3.56
2.31
1.01
0.94
0.29
Ultimately, signing Gyokeres would bring goals to a Liverpool side who currently lack a clinical centre forward. As the stats show, he would certainly be a massive upgrade on Nunez in front of goal.
Gyokeres can be a “game changer” for the Reds, as football statistician Statman Dave described him. The Swede could be exactly who Liverpool need to keep their excellent momentum going.
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