‘He brought something’ – Wayne Rooney claims there’s one player Liverpool have missed this season

Wayne Rooney has suggested that there’s one much-maligned player who Liverpool have missed since his departure from Anfield last year.

The summer of 2025 was one of substantial change to Arne Slot’s squad, with several key members of the Premier League-winning group moving on to pastures new and the loss of Diogo Jota in tragic circumstances.

One of those who left was Darwin Nunez, with the Uruguayan striker joining Al-Hilal, where he’s now found himself excluded from their Saudi Pro League roster due to foreign player restrictions following the arrival of Karim Benzema, despite a decent return of nine goals in 24 appearances.

Rooney: Nunez ‘brought something’ to Liverpool

Speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate, Rooney pointed to the major churn of players over the past 12 months as a contributing factor towards Liverpool’s decline from last season, and he named the 26-year-old as one of those who’s been missed at Anfield.

The pundit said: “Look at Liverpool from last season to now. I think Salah and Van Dijk haven’t been at their best. You’ve got Trent [Alexander-Arnold, now of Real Madrid] missing. Robertson hasn’t played a lot of games, Luis Diaz [left], the Jota situation.

“Even Nunez brought something. I know he wasn’t great, but he brought something to the team. Liverpool have lost a lot of players, so there is a sort of rebuild.”

Have Liverpool missed Nunez this season?

The Uruguay international divided opinion during his three years in English football, among Liverpool fans as well as pundits speaking from a neutral standpoint.

He was equally likely to conjure up a dramatic and/or show-stopping goal as he was to inexplicably miss the sort of chance you’d expect any Premier League striker to score, and it was telling that he’d lost his place in Slot’s starting XI in the latter months of last season.

Once Hugo Ekitike had signed and LFC had made their first offer for Alexander Isak, it was clear that Nunez looked set to fall way down the pecking order had he remained at Anfield for the current campaign.

Nobody was to know at the time of his move to Al-Hilal six months ago that his successor in the number 9 shirt at Liverpool would endure such an injury-plagued season, so in hindsight there’s a case to be made that the Uruguayan might still have had a decent supply of game-time if he’d stayed put.

There have been matches where the Reds have looked painfully blunt in attack and having the enigmatic 26-year-old to call upon off the bench could’ve made a massive difference.

Rooney’s remarks about Nunez are justified, although it’s very easy to be wise after the fact, and last summer it felt for all the world as though his time at Anfield had reached a natural conclusion.

That said, his contributions in a red shirt – along with his charisma and his ferocious attitude on the pitch – have ensured that he’d receive a fond farewell whenever he’s next in L4.

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