Liverpool is braced for a summer of upheaval, with Jurgen Klopp's illustrious tenure drawing to a close after nearly nine full campaigns. It's been a wild ride.
Klopp will stand down, as is his wish, and assistants such as Pep Lijnders will leave too. Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold are all out of contract in 2025 and there's a good chance at least one will be sold this summer.
But that's not all. Deeper below the surface, the whispers are rising in volume. Darwin Nunez's future at the club suddenly seems uncertain. It's a noise that, as yet, has not reached voluble levels but might just given the 24-year-old's regression in recent fixtures, his wastefulness in front of goal not suggestive of a world-class goalscorer.
At his best, Nunez is a top-class forward, so influential, so electric, but at his worst, he's erratic and frustrating, missing 46 big chances in the Premier League since arriving as Liverpool's club-record signing in 2022 – only Erling Haaland, who can be forgiven, circumstantially, has squandered more chances.
Might it be that Arne Slot, now a shoo-in for the manager's job at Anfield, seeks to sign a new, more clinical No. 9? Could Nunez be in danger?
Liverpool could move for Nunez replacement
Slot's rebrand at Anfield may well call for a new centre-forward, and given that the Dutchman boasts one of the finest rising strikers in Europe at Feyenoord in Santiago Gimenez, Liverpool could be tempted to forge ahead with a move.
While Gimenez hasn't strictly been linked with a move to Merseyside, he has attracted attention from Premier League rivals such as Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United following his prolific exploits over in the Netherlands.
The 23-year-old might even be available for as little as £30m, if reports from January are to be believed, which could suit the Reds just fine as they seek to reinforce the squad across several departments – central defence and midfield both in need of a fresh face or two.
And Premier League managers have often sought to start their reigns with what they know, to varying degrees of success, admittedly: Erik ten Hag dipped back into the Dutch Eredivisie after joining Manchester United from Ajax in 2022, while Klopp's first port of call in the transfer market for Liverpool was to sign Joel Matip from Germany, soon after landing Lloris Karius from Mainz.
The jury is still out for Gimenez in regard to his suitability as a top outfit such as Liverpool, but he's shown that he knows where the back of the net is and he might be a fantastic addition.
Santiago Gimenez's stats under Arne Slot
Feyenoord signed Gimenez from Mexican side Cruz Azul back in 2022 when he was a 21-year-old, with the Argentina-born marksman winning the Eredivisie title, under Slot, and enjoying vast riches on a personal level, in front of goal.
Indeed, last term Gimenez scored 28 goals and supplied three assists from 50 appearances in all competitions, with his displays leading talent scout Jacek Kulig to dub him "the Mexican machine".
Stat
22/23
23/24
Total played
32
29
Total started
21
29
Goals
15
21
Assists
2
5
Shots per game
2.7
3.6
Key passes per game
0.6
0.9
Dribbles per game
0.4
0.9
Duels won per game
2.7
3.9
Gimenez's Eredivisie statistics across his two campaigns with Feyenoord speak of growth and an increase in output across the park, with the rising star sharpening his tools but also deepening his understanding of what it takes to be a top-level striker on the European scene.
As per FBref, Gimenez ranks among the top 2% of centre-forwards across divisions similar to the Dutch top flight for goals scored, the top 4% for shots taken, the top 20% for successful take-ons and the top 21% for progressive carries per 90.
This highlights both the 5 foot 11 ace's natural goalscoring prowess and his eagerness to progress the play forward, with such a ball-carrying ability leading to some high praise from eagle-eyed viewers in Holland.
How Santiago Gimenez could slot in at Liverpool
Gimenez would certainly offer something different at Anfield, providing Slot with Liverpool's closest thing to a pure No. 9 (Jayden Danns notwithstanding).
Given that Dutch football expert, Finley Crebolder believes that the 25-cap Mexico star is the finest sharpshooter in the country "since [Luis] Suarez", who closed the door on his Eredivisie journey by signing for Liverpool in a £23m deal (aged 24), perhaps there is value in seeking to emulate the deal.
Suarez is notorious as one of his generation's finest strikers and dismantled the Premier League with Liverpool, scoring 31 goals and supplying 13 assists from 33 matches during an iconic 2013/14 Premier League campaign,
Liverpool could turn 3/10 flop into a 'generational star' by hiring Slot
It’s not just Darwin Nunez who could find a window of opportunity arise from the shifting cogs at Anfield this summer.
ByAngus Sinclair Apr 25, 2024
While Salah might leave Liverpool, he may well stay, with the Egyptian's largely stunning season a continuation of the years of potency that has established him as one of the finest forwards of his age. The 31-year-old has created the most big chances in the Premier League this season with 21.
Alexander-Arnold is one of the finest ball-playing specialists in the world, with pundit Jamie Carragher recently remarking that "it's "like having Kevin De Bruyne playing at right-back."
All told, there is so much about this Liverpool side, and while it's started to fall apart at the last hurdle of Klopp's dynasty, there is every chance that a brand-new centre-forward in Gimenez could propel Slot's soon-to-be Liverpool side to the next level, continuing Klopp's work and maintaining Liverpool's position at the forefront of the Premier League.