Liverpool supporters will be eagerly awaiting their side’s next Premier League fixture after the international break is finished. A relatively straightforward clash on paper against Nottingham Forest presents another great opportunity to continue Arne Slot’s fantastic start as manager.
The Reds look like an exciting team already, with no teething issues present in the wake of Jurgen Klopp’s sad exit, with three wins from three picked up in the league which included a ruthless 3-0 away victory at Manchester United last time out.
Luis Diaz stood out in that demolition job at Old Trafford, with Slot licking his lips at the excellent array of attackers he has at his disposal in his new job.
Diaz’s value at Liverpool
The Colombian winger tore a hapless Man United defence to shreds in that 3-0 win, capitalising on the many errors made by the home side to give his side a comfortable two-goal lead in the first half.
Diaz standing out at the Theatre of Dreams and rifling home two efforts means the South American star has now tallied up three goals and one assist from his team’s flawless start in the top-flight, as Slot looks to have got even more out of the former FC Porto attacker.
Liverpool’s decision to fork out an initial £37.5m to land the 27-year-old’s services back in 2022 continues to look like a wonderful move, with Football Transfers estimating that Diaz’s worth in 2024 is slightly more than that at £39.4m.
Whilst the 5 foot 10 winger has really hit the ground running under the early Slot regime, Darwin Nunez hasn’t quite exploded into life under the former Feyenoord boss yet, but more will be expected from the fiery centre-forward as the season progresses.
Nunez’s value at Liverpool
Compared to the electric Diaz, the Uruguayan number nine has only been sparingly used from off the bench during the infancy of this new season so far, with Diogo Jota getting the nod to start as Liverpool’s main man up top currently.
Nunez did show flickers of his quality in the 3-0 win over Ten Hag’s out-of-sorts United when substituted on, with two duels won as an option unafraid to roll his sleeves up and get dirty, whilst also firing one effort at Andre Onana’s constantly targeted goal.
The former Benfica striker will hope he can break into his new manager’s first-team plans soon, having registered 11 league strikes under Jurgen Klopp last season.
Costing the Reds an eye-watering £64m up-front in the same year Diaz joined, excluding any future add-ons, the pressure will be on Nunez’s shoulders to succeed, with his current value standing at £47.8m according to Football Transfers.
His 33 goals for Liverpool to date means he won’t be seen as a high-profile flop anytime soon, however.
That’s certainly when you compare him to a figure like Christian Benteke.
Benteke’s time with Liverpool
After announcing himself to the Premier League with 49 goals from 101 games for Villa, Benteke flopped under the weight of expectation after moving to Liverpool, with a lacklustre ten goals registered from 42 clashes.
Remarkably, If Benteke joined Slot’s camp in 2024, he would cost even more than the aforementioned Diaz and Nunez. How do we know that? Well, the guys at Totally Money have helped.
Having originally cost Liverpool £41m in 2015, if that same move occurred in the present day, the hulking Belgian would now cost a hefty £68m as per the Transfer Index.
That would make the deal even more of a colossal failure, with the centre-forward struggling to ever really get going in his new Anfield location after arriving with the reputation of being a deadly striker for Villa.
Benteke’s goal record for each PL club | ||
|---|---|---|
Club played for | Games | Goals |
Aston Villa | 101 | 49 |
Liverpool | 42 | 10 |
Crystal Palace | 177 | 37 |
Sourced by Transfermarkt | ||
Only being sold for £27m too, it’s safe to say this piece of business was an all-round failure as Liverpool accepted a loss just to get him off their roster in 2016.
He wouldn’t really mend his reputation in England with Crystal Palace, but is now a goal machine with DC United in the MLS, having bagged 34 goals for his new employers from just 67 contests so far.
However, to Liverpool fans, he’s remembered as a dud from an era that saw many a misfire happen in the transfer market.
Away from any conversations discussing the Premier League side’s poor recent past, the mood at Anfield currently is one of major optimism, as Slot aims to go toe-to-toe with Manchester City this season in the hunt for a top-flight title.
