Most of the off pitch topic of conversation this season has been the renewal of contracts of the 3 biggest stars. Captain Virgil van Dijk, talisman Mo Salah and the Scouser in the team, Trent Alexander Arnold all have contracts for renewal.
At this stage rumours suggest that Alexander-Arnold is off to Real Madrid but the other two renewals are still up in the air.
Beyond these 3 players there is a wider conversation to be had regarding the overall squad. Liverpool bought only one player last summer and he has hardly featured mainly due to injuries.
Arne Slot will have had a look at individual players and how they fit into his system. He will now have a good idea of who has a long term role to play in his first XI and his wider squad.
The lethargic performances that led to dropped points at Goodison Park and dropping out of the Champions League followed by the Carabao Cup final defeat suggests tired legs and minds.
Lack of squad rotation is a possible cause for this and a reasonable assumption may be lack of trust in individual players by the manager.
We will take a look at 5 players who could see an end to their Liverpool careers for differing reasons. We will go through the case for their Anfield exits.
Darwin Nunez
Nunez was bought in the summer of 2022 as a rough diamond with bags of potential. He had given the Liverpool defenders a torrid time as a Benfica player when the teams met in the Champions League.
Things haven’t quite worked out in that way. Nunez had a slow start to his Liverpool career by getting sent off against Crystal Palace. He was brought in to score goals and unfortunately they are few and far between.
Whilst he has scored some key goals such as the brace against Newcastle at St James’s Park last season, the last minute winner against Nottingham Forest and the late brace against Brentford this season.
Nunez is unable to put the simple chances away. This has cost Liverpool dearly. There have been several easy chances that would have brought Liverpool back into the game or put them into the lead.
Nunez enjoys immense support from the crowd whether he is starting or coming on as a sub. However he still shows an erratic side.
This season his attitude has come into question for some of the games from his manager.
After 2+ seasons, it looks unlikely that Nunez will become that prolific No. 9 Liverpool requires. At the age of 25, Liverpool can still expect a healthy transfer fee for Nunez especially if it comes from the Saudi league.