World Cup fever provides a welcome temporary break from the relentlessness of the Premier League and Champions League, but it also brings another minor benefit. The run of daily matches generally keeps attention on the pitch rather than on wild speculation about which transfers could be completed this summer. If it wasn't for the drama and talking points of Iran drawing 2-2 with New Zealand at about 4am UK time, the only thing we'd have to talk about is which club will sign 'this' player and which one will go elsewhere.
Of course, that does not mean that the transfer rumour mill has been cast aside completely, only that its merry-go-round of 24-hour updates will intensify once the showpiece tournament has drawn to a close. One man who has not escaped the frenzy of the early knockings of transfer silly season is Darwin Nunez. The former Liverpool striker sparked up some conversation last week when reports emerged suggesting that he was willing to rip up his contract with Al-Hilal after his first season in the Saudi Pro League ended in unsurprisingly familiar frustration.
Nunez made a decent start to his time in the Middle East with some early goals, but it wasn't enough to prevent his own club from acquiring former France international Karim Benzema in January and, as a consequence, freezing Nunez out of the domestic squad entirely, thanks to strict rules around overseas players. It prompted some fans online to suggest that the Uruguayan should return to Liverpool, perhaps on a free transfer, covering for the injured Hugo Ekitike, who is not expected to return to action until around Christmas time. The ECHO even did a panel piece on the suggestion last week, such was the interest in the story.
This week, the gossip-o-meter has gone up another notch after reports from Uruguay emerged suggesting that Nunez was on his way back to Anfield. On Monday, Martin Charquero tweeted that Nunez will return to Liverpool, but insisted that confirmation will not be given until after Uruguay's involvement in the World Cup has ended. The update is credited to journalist Juan Pablo Romero from Carve Deportiva, which is a Uruguayan sports radio station based in Montevideo.
Naturally, that has further fanned the flames of speculation that the player once nicknamed 'Captain Chaos' by Liverpool supporters could be on his way back to Anfield for a second coming. Exciting times indeed. Or at least they are if your memory banks have been completely erased of the 26-year-old's three seasons in a Red shirt. Thankfully, Nunez was able to provide an immediate reminder last night when he started for Uruguay against 61st-ranked Saudi Arabia in World Cup Group G.
The 11pm kick-off may have proved too late for many, but in the interests of research, I afforded myself the opening 45 minutes, which, as it turned out, was enough to see all of Nunez's contribution. The former Liverpool No.9 came into the match on a 13-match goalless run for his national team and that unwanted statistic has now been extended to 14. In the first half, he completed just three passes and had no shots on target, with one speculative effort off-target. Uruguay boss Marcelo Bielsa had seen enough and hooked Nunez at half-time, with the Saudis one up at the break. The game would eventually finish 1-1, but it remains to be seen whether Nunez will start in his country's next match against Cape Verde on Sunday.
If the former Benfica star, who arrived at Anfield with high expectations, was looking to remind people of his qualities, this was not the audition to deliver. Uruguayan media put his ineffectiveness down to a lack of game time with Al-Hilal in the second half of the season. It is difficult to disagree with that notion, and it also raises the question of why he was willing to play outside Europe's top leagues in the first place.
Of course, judging a player on one 45-minute outing would be grossly unfair. Fortunately, I've seen plenty of him in a Liverpool shirt and as far as I'm concerned, re-signing Nunez is one of the maddest ideas I've heard since the Reds decided they were going to have joint managers in 1998. Even if his Al-Hilal contract is terminated by mutual agreement and he becomes a free agent, why would Liverpool re-sign a player whom they sold at a loss? And given that he has struggled for game time and rhythm, how is playing second fiddle to Alexander Isak and eventually Ekitike going to improve him?
It is easy to put on the red-tinted glasses when reminiscing about Nunez. His high work rate and emotional output endeared him to the Kop and offered him plenty of forgiveness for the huge number of chances he squandered in front of goal. But the simple fact is that he was not good enough to have a future at Liverpool and that is why he was allowed to leave. His hold-up play was poor, his first touch often let him down, and he only broke double figures in the Premier League scoring charts once (11), and that was in a high-quality side that created chances for fun. In the end I am convinced that some of his teammates simply weren't passing to him in attacking phases because they no longer trusted him to deliver in the penalty box and when they did he was often caught offside.
At least he has a Premier League winner's medal to show for his efforts, but I can't remember a single Liverpool player who was afforded as much patience by the Kop as Nunez. He deserves to be remembered fondly at the club, but bringing him back? Come on. This club needs to move forward with fresh ideas, not run nostalgic repeats.
