Darwin Núñez, following the victory over Tottenham, has seemingly wiped his Instagram account clean of nearly all Liverpool-related posts, save for one image.
Núñez has been under fire recently due to his lack of precision in the final third, a problem that has also plagued other team members like Mohamed Salah and Luis Díaz who have struggled to capitalize on crucial opportunities.
The Uruguayan's most recent outing was as a substitute in Sunday's match against Tottenham Hotspur, where he was first flagged offside before squandering a one-on-one. This season, Núñez has been caught offside 32 times in the Premier League— more than any other player — and has missed the second-highest number of big chances (27).
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Speculation has been rife about what lies ahead for the ex-Benfica forward after a second season that has seen some advancement, but still some glaring issues, particularly with his finishing. Liverpool shelled out an initial $80.6m (£64.1m/€74.8m) for Núñez in June 2022, a figure that could rise to $107m (£85m/€99m) with add-ons.
New reports from Spain suggest Barcelona could be interested in the striker. News outlet Sport claims that Núñez is on the Catalan club's radar as they look for a long-term heir to Robert Lewandowski.
Whether Núñez's recent clear-out on Instagram hints at future developments is up for debate, but the Uruguayan has notably wiped his account of nearly all Liverpool-related posts, save for one. The lone survivor is a snapshot of him at the AXA Training Centre following his 2022 signing — his Benfica and Uruguay snaps are untouched.
When quizzed about the goal-scoring hiccups of Núñez and Salah as April drew to a close, Jürgen Klopp shared with journalists: "It's tricky. Strikers have to go through these things. That's how it is.
"That's a striker's life. A goalkeeper's life is make 500 saves, then one howler — and everybody talks about this. A striker's life is you score all the time, then you don't score for a while and then everybody asks why you don't score.
"It can be the most difficult thing in the world and sometimes it's the easiest thing in the world, depending on what chance you get. We had good chances against Everton but again we were a bit in a rush in finishing them off.
"So create again, create again and try and get in the right positions to finish the situations off. It will be a really rich man or woman who can write that book [on a striker getting back to their best]. You have to go through it. I try to help them speeding it up. That says nothing about the quality of the boys."
Liverpool.com says: That's not exactly a promising sign from Núñez. The frustration around him has perhaps reached boiling point in recent weeks for fans, and he has found himself falling down the pecking order for the front three.
It would be a huge call from Liverpool to offload him in the summer, but there's no doubt a decision will have to be made. That will come down to Arne Slot and Richard Hughes, but it seems Núñez might not be too happy at the moment.
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can read the original story in the Liverpool ECHO by clicking here.
