“They’ve missed him” – Ally McCoist echoes Rooney with verdict on one man Liverpool sold last year | OneFootball

Ally McCoist has claimed that Liverpool have ‘missed’ one player in particular who they sold last summer.

There was a significant exodus from Anfield after the 2024/25 Premier League title triumph, with several members of that squad moving on to pastures new in the subsequent months.

One of those was Darwin Nunez, who joined Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia for £46.3m (BBC Sport) and has netted nine goals in 24 games so far for his current club.

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McCoist: Liverpool have ‘missed’ Nunez this season

Speaking on talkSPORT, McCoist was discussing Liverpool’s transfer activity from last summer in reflecting upon what’s gone wrong this season, and he feels that the much-maligned Uruguayan striker has been missed at Anfield.

He said: “Do you know something? I think they’ve missed the big boy up front, Darwin Nunez. He was criticised, and a lot of it was justified, but the one thing he did, he was a presence. He ran about, he made himself a real nuisance, he chipped in with some goals. They’ve missed him as well I think.”

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Nunez was an enigma but Liverpool have missed him this season

McCoist’s verdict on the 26-year-old has strong echoes of what Wayne Rooney said about him in February, with the ex-Manchester United striker remarking that our former no.9 ‘brought something to the team’ even if he ‘wasn’t great’.

Nunez was a frequent target for criticism during his time in England, with Robbie Fowler among those who lamented his finishing at times, and he’d lost his place in the Liverpool starting XI in the second half of last season, which ended with a poor return of seven goals in 47 matches.

One thing he did guarantee, though, was a wholehearted effort on the pitch which made him a popular figure among supporters, as did a happy knack for coming up with decisive stoppage-time winners – just ask Newcastle, Nottingham Forest and Brentford!

It’s easy to be wise in hindsight, of course, and last August it certainly felt like a sensible move to take £46m for the Uruguayan when he was clearly out of favour under Arne Slot.

However, there’s definitely been times this season that Liverpool could’ve done with Nunez to call upon, particularly on Sunday when we’d no centre-forward in the matchday squad and six academy players on the bench.

FSG made what they felt was the right decision nine months ago – they now need to live with it.