‘Those close to Darwin…’ – Romano shares what he was told about Nunez returning to Liverpool | OneFootball

Fabrizio Romano has responded to rumours regarding a potential return to Liverpool for Darwin Nunez.

There were reports last week that the striker ‘would like’ to go back to Anfield as he seeks a mutual termination of his contract with Al-Hilal, and Uruguayan journalist Juan Pablo Romero claimed on Monday (via Martin Charquero on X) that the 26-year-old will return to Merseyside.

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However, in an update on his eponymous YouTube channel, the Italian transfer guru downplayed the likelihood of that happening, having heard differently from sources with close connections to the player.

Romano downplays Nunez return rumours

Romano outlined: “Guys, with maximum respect to those sources close to the Uruguayan national team, close to the club or whatever, my information is that those close to Darwin and sources close to Darwin’s camp deny this information.

“Those close to Darwin Nunez say that it’s not true – there’s nothing ongoing with Darwin Nunez and Liverpool. This is the information coming from those close to the Uruguayan striker.”

The reporter added that there’s an ‘expectation’ for the 26-year-old to leave Al-Hilal for ‘a new opportunity’, but is ‘not aware of anything really advanced with Liverpool’ at present.

(Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

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Nunez unlikely to return to Liverpool any time soon

Romano isn’t the first reliable source in recent days to dismiss the chances of Nunez going back to Anfield – James Pearce wrote it off as a ‘ridiculous idea’ on The Athletic’s Walk On podcast, adding: ‘I don’t even know where to start with that.’

In truth, it never felt all that likely to happen this summer even if the striker were to depart his current club, and his performance in Uruguay’s World Cup opener against Saudi Arabia on Monday wouldn’t have done anything to motivate Liverpool to bring him back.

The former Red was hauled off at half-time after an ineffective 45 minutes in which he completed just three passes and touched the ball a paltry seven times, with his only shot of the match failing to hit the target (Sofascore).

In contrast to that anonymous display from Nunez, his successor in the number 9 shirt at Anfield (Alexander Isak) scored one goal and set up two more as Sweden thumped Tunisia 5-1.

The Uruguayan is assured of cult hero status in L4 due to his knack for crucial late goals and his wholehearted commitment on the pitch, but we shouldn’t expect to see him adorning the famous red shirt again any time soon. It’ll nonetheless be intriguing to see where he does end up after Al-Hilal.