Aston Villa’s €33m gamble could solve their biggest problem

Darwin Nunez may have struggled at Liverpool, but the Uruguay international striker looks a perfect option to help solve Aston Villa’s goalscoring problems.

It was not so long ago that Unai Emery’s side were in surprise contention for the Premier League title, but their lack of goals finally appears to have caught up with them.

Villa have netted only 38 times in 27 Premier League games this season, which is the lowest figure of any club in the top eight. Across their last four league outings, they have scored only three times and have seen seven valuable points slip away.

The form of Ollie Watkins has collapsed, and ahead of the summer transfer window, Emery should be seriously considering former Liverpool striker Nunez as a budget-friendly signing who could add the type of X-factor that his side is currently missing.

The chaos factor

Nunez is a striker who carries a certain stigma to him. During his time with Liverpool, he was noted for his propensity to miss big opportunities, but he was loved by the Anfield fans for the energy and chaos he brought to his side.

“The speed, the finishing skills, the desire he has… when he’s fit he is really fit so he can go and go again. You just don’t know where he will end up,” former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said of the Uruguay striker in November 2023.

The 26-year-old is not a tidy centre-forward by any means, but this is his strength. He thrives on mayhem. Villa could use a little of that.

Watkins, after all, has scored only one goal in his last 10 appearances, and on Sunday looked hopelessly out of sorts against Leeds. Tammy Abraham has been signed from Besiktas and grabbed the equaliser in that encounter, but Villa need more.

Darwin Nunez to Aston Villa: Why it works

Nunez is an excellent fit for Emery’s Aston Villa, according to SciSports’ Career Advice tool. This gives each team a Club Fit score based on a variety of factors, from development and playing time to style and formation.

Villa are his best option, coming in with a massive score of 84. He scores especially well in terms of game time and style, suggesting that he could rapidly become a prominent figure for Emery.

His work ethic both on and off the ball would match that energy that Emery likes his side to have, and if his finishing could be tidied up just a little, he would become a potent threat.

Indeed, his SciSkill of 98.1 and potential of 108.2 indicate that he can develop into one of the Premier League’s finest centre-forwards in the correct environment. This rating is calculated using in-game data points in an attempt to remove bias from the ranking.

This would put Nunez in a similar bracket to Liverpool’s Alexander Isak (110.5) and Hugo Ekitike (109.5), and ahead of the likes of Benjamin Sesko (104.2) and Joao Pedro (103.9) at Manchester United and Chelsea respectively.

An excellent price

Aston Villa’s finances have been an issue when it’s come to signing players in recent seasons, and Darwin offers another win here.

Al-Hilal are looking to offload the player, suggesting that he will not command the type of transfer fee that might otherwise have been expected. Indeed, he has not played a minute in each of their last three games.

He has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of just €33.1m – well under half of what Liverpool paid Benfica for him four years ago.

That latent potential for chaos remains, and with Villa in need of a striker and Nunez in need of a route back to the big time, this could be a profitable partnership for both.

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