Darwin Nunez Liverpool return truth can't be avoided as transfer talk suddenly ramps up

Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version from Echo or go back to LFC Live.

The former Liverpool striker sparked up some conversation last week when reports emerged suggesting that he was willing to rip up his contract with Al-Hilal after his first season in the Saudi Pro League ended in unsurprisingly familiar frustration.Nunez made a decent start to his time in the Middle East with some early goals, but it wasn't enough to prevent his own club from acquiring former France international Karim Benzema in January and, as a consequence, freezing Nunez out of the domestic squad entirely, thanks to strict rules around overseas players.It prompted some fans online to suggest that the Uruguayan should return to Liverpool, perhaps on a free transfer, covering for the injured Hugo Ekitike, who is not expected to return to action until around Christmas time. The ECHO even did a panel piece on the suggestion last week, such was the interest in the story.This week, the gossip-o-meter has gone up another notch after reports from Uruguay emerged suggesting that Nunez was on his way back to Anfield.FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE!

All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo's dedicated LFC Facebook pageOn Monday, Martin Charquero, you know him, tweeted that Nunez will return to Liverpool, but insisted that confirmation will not be given until after Uruguay's involvement in the World Cup has ended. Fortunately, I've seen plenty of him in a Liverpool shirt and as far as I'm concerned, re-signing Nunez is one of the maddest ideas I've heard since the Reds decided they were going to have joint managers in 1998.Even if his Al-Hilal contract is terminated by mutual agreement and he becomes a free agent, why would Liverpool re-sign a player whom they sold at a loss?

But the simple fact is that he was not good enough to have a future at Liverpool and that is why he was allowed to leave.His hold-up play was poor, his first touch often let him down, and he only broke double figures in the Premier League scoring charts once (11), and that was in a high-quality side that created chances for fun. In the end I am convinced that some of his teammates simply weren't passing to him in attacking phases because they no longer trusted him to deliver in the penalty box and when they did he was often caught offside.At least he has a Premier League winner's medal to show for his efforts, but I can't remember a single Liverpool player who was afforded as much patience by the Kop as Nunez.He deserves to be remembered fondly at the club, but bringing him back?