Arne Slot has responded to claims from Portugal that Darwin Nunez has been left out of his lineup due to a payment clause in Liverpool’s deal with Benfica.
Nunez has not started since the 3-1 win over Southampton on March 8 and, leaving him on 59 starts across Premier League and Champions League, that has sparked stories in Portugal.
According to newspaper A Bola, Liverpool would be required to pay another €5 million to Benfica as part of their club-record deal if the striker makes his 60th start in those competitions.
That has already been disputed by sources on Merseyside, but Slot was questioned on the subject in his pre-Tottenham press conference.
The head coach admitted he had no knowledge of the clause and therefore it “might be true,” but his response gave more of an indication that Nunez not starting is simply a sporting decision.
“Do you always believe what journalists say? Not always? Me neither,” he said.
“Sometimes you should, but sometimes it’s better not to believe everything that is written about players.
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“[This story is] completely new to me and I’ve said many times that I’m working at a club here where it’s really nice to work.
“So mainly sporting directors are judged by the players they bring in, for me it’s very important to have a great working environment and I have that with Richard [Hughes].
“The last, last, last, last, last thing he would do, as I expect working with him for 10 months, is tell me: ‘If you play him it would cost us this much’.
“That, he would never, never, never do. I don’t even know if it’s true, yes or no, because we never talk about that.
“He never interferes with a lineup.
“It might be true, but if a journalist says it we have to [take it with a pinch of salt].”
While Slot has at least denied any awareness of the deal with Benfica, it must also be acknowledged that – just as with journalists – the public comments of a football manager are often not always the full truth.
Taking his reply at face value though and it is clear that Nunez is no longer considered part of his regular rotation of starting forwards.
That could largely be due to the return to fitness of Diogo Jota, who was preferred to Nunez at the start of the campaign, but there is also an expectation that the Uruguayan will depart the club at the end of the campaign.
Liverpool are reported to be open to offers for their No. 9, with his strongest suitors in Saudi Arabia, and with there a focus on planning for next season it may not be in Slot’s best interest to build around Nunez now.
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