Liverpool were ‘willing’ to offer Darwin Nunez in a swap deal to sign Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid this summer, according to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo (h/t Liverpool Echo).
The Portugal international ended up going on loan to Barcelona from Atletico on deadline day. However, the Spanish outlet claims there were ‘no shortage of offers’ for the 23-year-old with Liverpool among those interested.
The report, cited by the Liverpool Echo, claims that Liverpool wanted to sign Felix in the summer and were ‘willing’ to include Nunez in a potential deal.
However, in the end, a deal did not materialise and the Portuguese international opted to stay in Spain and join the reigning La Liga champions, Barcelona, on deadline day.
Felix signed for Atletico in the summer of 2019 in a big-money deal after forging a reputation as one of the best young talents in world football during his time at Benfica. However, he has failed to live up to expectations at the Metropolitano Stadium.
In the previous campaign, Simeone did not seem to fancy Felix. He fell down in the pecking order under the Argentine manager. Subsequently, Chelsea came calling in January and signed the forward on loan.
Consistency
Felix had no problem adjusting to the rigours of the Premier League. He was one of Chelsea’s best players during a turbulent period but couldn’t prevent them from finishing 12th in the table.
At Liverpool, Nunez struggled for consistency after completing an £85 million move last summer. There was a lot of expectation surrounding the Uruguayan international after commanding such a fee but he failed to back it up with top class performances week-in, week-out.
Nunez has failed to hold down a starting spot in Jurgen Klopp’s team during the opening games of the season, so it may not come as a surprise to some that Liverpool were open to the idea of swapping the South American for Felix in the summer window.
However, Nunez reminded everybody of his potential after coming off the bench to score a stunning brace during Liverpool’s 2-1 comeback victory over Newcastle United in late August.
Klopp will hope that performance will give Nunez the confidence to push on this season and show why the Merseysiders paid £85m for his signature.
