Liverpool have agreed a €40 million deal for Osasuna winger Víctor Muñoz, handing Andoni Iraola his first signing — and dealing Newcastle yet another transfer blow in the process.
The 22-year-old Spain international had been in talks with the Magpies before Liverpool moved in and ended the conversation. It's become something of a habit at Anfield. Hugo Ekitké, now one summer ago. Muñoz, now. Newcastle keep getting to the table and leaving empty-handed.
What Muñoz actually offers
His numbers at Osasuna — six goals and two assists in 34 La Liga appearances — look modest on paper. Context matters. That was a debut top-flight season in a side that narrowly avoided relegation. The ceiling is clearly higher.
What stands out isn't the goal tally. It's the athleticism and directness. Muñoz was clocked as La Liga's second-fastest player in 2025-26 at 35.5 km/h. He completed 75 dribbles in the league — only Lamine Yamal, Vinícius Júnior, and Kylian Mbappé managed more. Among under-25s in La Liga, only Yamal attempted more shots than his 81.
Those are not the numbers of a player Liverpool are buying on potential alone. That's a proven profile — explosive, direct, trigger-happy — exactly the kind of energy that went missing from their attack for long stretches last season.
He fits Iraola's 4-2-3-1 setup naturally, most likely occupying the left wing slot. Right-footed wide left, cutting inside — the template is familiar enough. Whether he can execute it at Anfield against Premier League defenders is the actual question.
The Salah gap, the Madrid clause, and what comes next
Nobody is pretending Muñoz is a Mohamed Salah replacement. Nine years, hundreds of goals, one of the Premier League's defining players — that's not filled with one signing. What Muñoz does is stop the bleeding. Cody Gakpo's regression, Federico Chiesa's expected exit, and Hugo Ekitké's long-term injury have left Liverpool dangerously thin in wide areas. A 17-year-old in Rio Ngumoha was otherwise their next option.
Real Madrid held a buy-back clause and a 50% sell-on right from when they sold Muñoz to Osasuna for €5 million last summer. They've opted not to trigger the buy-back — José Mourinho is prioritising defensive reinforcements — but they'll still pocket €20 million from Liverpool's fee. Not a bad return on a player who made four senior appearances for them.
Muñoz's story with Madrid ended awkwardly. He came off the bench in the 88th minute of a 4-3 Clásico defeat in May 2025, missed a late one-on-one, and subsequently closed his social media accounts after the abuse that followed. That kind of pressure — at 22, in a defining moment — and he survived it, joined Osasuna, and earned a World Cup squad spot inside a season. That's not nothing.
Liverpool's pursuit of RB Leipzig's Yan Diomande hasn't gone away either. Muñoz doesn't make that deal redundant — it likely just slots in alongside it, given the scale of the rebuild required. Diomande's camp has made clear he won't be deciding anything until after the World Cup. Liverpool can afford to wait. They've already moved first.
