Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are monitoring the situation of Darwin Nunez at Liverpool ahead of the summer.
Nunez has scored just four league goals during a difficult campaign and has failed to win the trust of Arne Slot. The Uruguayan has started only seven times in the Premier League this season.
Earlier this week, Slot criticised Nunez following his reaction to a missed chance at Aston Villa.
“I helped him by saying you can miss a chance,” Slot said in his news conference before Wednesday’s visit of Newcastle.
“I wasn’t only hard on him. But for the second time in a row I wasn’t happy with his work effort, against Wolves and against Villa. I can’t accept if a player doesn’t give everything. That is clear. I can accept it once, but twice was a bit too much. That’s why I addressed it.
“If you miss a chance, you need to be fighting for the team. I’m not saying he didn’t do that at all, but it wasn’t the usual Darwin, the one that is loved by the fans. That is mainly because he always works so hard.”
According to El Nacional, Barcelona have made contact with Nunez’s representatives as the Catalans look for competition for Robert Lewandowski. The latter is La Liga’s leading scorer this season but will turn 37 in August.
Atletico Madrid are also keeping tabs on Nunez. Liverpool plan to sign a centre-forward in the summer amid concerns over Nunez’s form and Diogo Jota’s injury record.
One player on the club’s radar is Brighton’s Joao Pedro. The 23-year-old has scored 27 goals in 62 games since joining the Seagulls from Watford for a fee of £30m in 2023.
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