Former Premier League striker Jermain Defoe on Darwin Nunez's Liverpool future after penalty miss against Paris Saint-Germain

The Reds were eliminated from the Champions League on Tuesday night after Paris Saint-Germain won 1-0 at Anfield in the second leg of their round of 16 clash, before eventually winning 4-1 in the subsequent penalty shootout.

Mohamed Salah scored his side's first attempt from the spot but Nunez missed Liverpool's second, ultimately swinging momentum in PSG's favour.

Defoe told Sports Mole that the striker will likely not establish himself as the Reds' leading forward, and suggested that a move away would benefit him, saying: "He needs a fresh challenge, a different environment and maybe he just needs to go somewhere and find his form again in terms of goals.

"[A move could make] people look at him and be like, 'okay, he's someone that can score goals' because I just feel like now, because it's gone on for so long, that I don't know if he can recover, unfortunately."

Nunez has frequently been linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League, though given he is only 25 years old, it would perhaps be surprising if he decided to leave Europe with so much of his career ahead of him.

Why has it gone wrong for Nunez?

Nunez has only managed to score five times in the Premier League this season, while he only netted 11 times in the entirety of 2023-24, but his tallies in both seasons could have been significantly higher had he not wasted numerous chances in the final third.

In fact, the forward missed 27 big chances in the Premier League last term, and underperformed his xG total of 16.3 by more than five, though his return of five goals in 2024-25 means he has exactly matched his xG tally in the league.

When asked about why Nunez has not succeeded at Anfield, Defoe expressed his bewilderment at the attacker's displays, telling Sports Mole: "It is frustrating though, because when you watch him play, he works so hard and he keeps going and he keeps going and he's so dynamic and quick.

"He's got good movement but just that final bit that you need as a centre forward, for some reason he just hasn't got it but we've seen it - he's had it before he came to Liverpool."

In his final season at Benfica in 2021-22, Nunez managed to score 26 league goals in just 28 appearances, and he has shown at times during his Liverpool career that he is capable of producing high-quality shots.

Should Liverpool sell?

Liverpool are likely to have a busy summer given they face the prospect of losing Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Salah for free, while the likes of Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota have had their futures questioned.

Allowing so many players - particularly forwards - to leave the club could be risky, but it is difficult to see Nunez staying given he has not claimed a starting spot despite having been at Anfield for nearly three seasons.

Speaking to Sports Mole, Defoe failed to see how the Uruguayan could possibly resurrect his Reds future and said that a move away would be for the best, arguing: "I don't know if he can recover now from it. It's gone on for so long, it's almost like how do you recover from this now because you've missed so many chances.

"With the chance that he missed [against Aston Villa], it was almost like, okay you can miss chances but people are looking at it thinking [about] 'can he recover from this?'"

Liverpool drew 2-2 with Aston Villa away from home in the Premier League on February 19, but Nunez squandered a golden opportunity from close range to give the Reds a 3-2 lead in the second half despite the absence of Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez in the net.

Jermain Defoe was speaking to Sports Mole courtesy of bet365's new Sub On, Play On product.

Written by

Lewis Nolan