Liverpool progressed through to the semi-fifromnals of the League Cup with an emphatic 5-1 win over West Ham United at Anfield on Wednesday night.

It was a clinical display from the Reds as they dispatched the Hammers with relative ease to secure their clash with Fulham in the last four of the competition.

This was a much-needed result and performance after the disappointment that came from their 0-0 drawn with Manchester United on Sunday.

Jurgen Klopp’s side had 34 shots and racked up 2.38 xG but failed to come away with all three points as their finishing, and shot selections, left a lot to be desired.

One change that the German boss made for the cup clash was to move Darwin Nunez out to the left flank, instead of through the middle as a centre-forward, and he thrived in that position.

Liverpool could now unleash the Uruguay international on the wing on a permanent basis by securing a deal for a player to lead the line.

Liverpool transfer news – Karim Adeyemi

It was reported during the summer transfer window that the Reds were looking at Borussia Dortmund forward Karim Adeyemi as a possible target to bolster their attack.

The outlet also named Federico Chiesa and Leroy Sane as targets if the club lost Mohamed Salah, who was being pursued by Al Ittihad at the time.

Calcio Mercato claimed that Klopp likes Adeyemi ‘a lot’ and that is why the Germany international was on the list of players to possibly replace the Egypt international.

However, Liverpool could reignite their interest in the £32m Dortmund attacker and look to revive his career as a centre-forward, rather than viewing him as a winger.

This would then provide Klopp with a number nine to spearhead his attack, which would then allow Nunez to be permanently moved to a wide role.

Nunez’s performance against West Ham in numbers

The former Benfica star lined up on the left of the attack, with Cody Gakpo as the number nine, and caught the eye with a fantastic performance.

Nunez created an eye-catching four chances for his teammates and registered one assist as he teed up Curtis Jones for the second goal.

No player on the pitch produced more key passes than the Liverpool whiz, who also completed one of his two attempted dribbles in 90 minutes.

He was able to use his physicality and pace to be a constant threat to the Hammers defence to create chances for others, rather than being there to get on the end of passes from others, which is where the forward has struggled this season.

Nunez has been far too wasteful in front of goal as a centre-forward in the Premier League and moving him out wide to be a creative outlet could be a fantastic piece of management by Klopp.

Nunez’s Premier League record in numbers

The 24-year-old dynamo joined the Reds from Benfica in the summer of 2022 and has failed to prove himself to be a reliable scorer in the top-flight.

During the 2022/23 campaign, the Uruguay international produced nine goals and three assists in 29 league appearances for Liverpool.

In that time, Nunez missed a staggering 20 ‘big chances’ but was able to create 11 ‘big chances’ for his teammates. This suggests that he did not make the most of the opportunities that came his way and the same could be said for the players he was setting up.

His finishing has not improved since the end of last season as the forward has produced four goals and spurned a whopping 15 ‘big chances’ in just 16 Premier League outings this term.

He has, once again, been a solid creative outlet for the Reds, though, with five assists and six ‘big chances’ created in his ten league starts.

This means that Nunez has missed 35 ‘big chances’ and created 17 of them for his teammates since the start of the 2022/23 campaign, which suggests that creating for others is a bigger strength of his than finishing off opportunities.

As you can see in the chart above, the Liverpool ace is an outstanding creator who can cause constant problems for opposition defences.

Therefore, a wide role could be perfect for the chaotic attacker as the team would rely on him to create for his fellow attackers rather than the other way round.

In order to make Nunez a winger on a permanent basis, Liverpool could need to sign a centre-forward in January and this is where Adeyemi comes in.

The statistics that show why Liverpool should sign Adeyemi

The German ace has spent the majority of his career at Dortmund so far playing as a winger and it has not brought the best out of him.

Adeyemi has produced 11 goals and eight assists in 50 appearances for the club since his move from Salzburg in 2022, with two of those outings coming as a number nine.

He has not been a consistent performer as a scorer or a creator of goals whilst playing on the left or the right flank and has not been given a fair opportunity to prove his worth down the middle.

Whereas, the 21-year-old marksman was mainly deployed as a number nine throughout his time in Austria with Salzburg and it allowed him to thrive in the final third.

The £83k-per-week finisher racked up 32 goals and 19 assists in 67 competitive appearances as a striker for the club before his move to Dortmund.

During the 2021/22 campaign, Adeyemi, who was once dubbed a “nightmare” for defenders by talent scout Jacek Kulig, plundered 19 goals and only missed 14 ‘big chances’ in 29 Bundesliga matches for Salzburg.

These statistics suggest that the Germany international has the potential to be a prolific centre-forward for the Reds if they are able to get the best out of him, rather than being wasted out wide at Dortmund, due to his impressive finishing and goal record as a striker.

This would then free up Nunez, who is currently being wasted through the middle when his creativity could be harnessed out wide week-in-week-out, to play on the wing on a permanent basis.