Darwin Nuñez And Erling Haaland Add Extra Firepower To Liverpool

The Premier League’s two dominant teams of the past four years have both made similar signings this summer, adding a new edge to their already competitive rivalry.

Both Liverpool and Manchester City will have new strikers available to them in the 2022/23 season as Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola will be able to call upon the services of Darwin Nuñez and Erling Haaland respectively.

Both teams have previously been known for not always using orthodox strikers. Their central attacker is often tasked with performing more than one job—more than just leading the line and scoring goals.

But the arrivals of Nuñez and Haaland in the same summer transfer window sees both clubs potentially operating with out and out centre-forwards in the upcoming campaign.

There will no doubt be a period of adaptation for both players to their new surroundings, but it’s unlikely either will be asked to tame their attacking instincts too much, and will be primarily used for their natural strengths of leading the line and looking to score goals.

Liverpool’s goals under Klopp have usually come from the flanks with inside forwards Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane regularly considered their main goal threat. With Mane Having departed, Salah’s support in terms of goal-getting is now likely to come through the middle from Nuñez, rather than on the opposite flank.

In Manchester, City’s top goalscorers for the last three seasons have been wingers or midfielders, but it would be a surprise if Haaland doesn’t top their goalscoring charts this season.

Nuñez and Haaland could well be battling each other for the Premier League’s Golden Boot this season while their teams will hope to be challenging once again for the Premier League title.

The eagerness to see how these players will fare this season is so strong that they are already being judged in friendly matches. Nuñez’s every touch has been monitored and scrutinised, mostly by opposition supporters, during pre-season, while Haaland’s blaze over the bar from six yards out in Saturday’s Community Shield was widely ridiculed.

Both players have been searching for fitness and settling into their new surroundings, and away from the snap judgements on social media, they have generally shown what they will bring to their new teams. That will be good movement, pace and power leading the line, a desire to score goals, and intensity.

“It was good, it was really good,” Klopp said of Nuñez’s performance in Liverpool’s 3-1 Community Shield win, in which the Uruguayan scored one of the goals.

“It is clear it will get better with time. We live in a world where everybody gets judged on first sight and that’s not helpful for anybody, but it happens constantly.

“In the first few games we were not even close to the fitness level of today and then when he came on, we passed every ball for him to chase it, and after the third ball he was completely killed. Then everybody judged his first touches and these kinds of things.

“It’s just a joke but we have to live with that, he will deal with it brilliantly. We are patient and we know he can do good stuff.”

Guardiola spoke about Haaland’s performance in the Community Shield, in which the Norwegian forward found himself in a number of good positions but couldn’t quite get on the scoresheet.

“He had chances—two or three in the first half, and one at the end, and always is there,” Guardiola said.

“He is strong, another time he will put it in the net. It happens. It is football. He was there. He had another goal disallowed because the ball was over the line.

“He fought a lot and made the movements. It is good for him to see the reality of a new country and new league.

“He was there but today he didn’t score and another day he will score. He has incredible quality and he will do it.”

Both managers stressed the importance of giving these players time to settle and are confident their new signings will bring goals this season.

The pair will add extra excitement, quality, and new storylines to the Premier League as a whole, and on top of that they will also play a key role in the rivalry between two of England and Europe’s best sides.