Darwin Nunez Ready To Reach New Heights For Liverpool After 2022 World Cup

It was impossible not to compare Darwin Nunez and Erling Haaland. Both strikers were signed in the same transfer window by England’s two best soccer teams for huge fees. Manchester City looked to Haaland to give them something different while Nunez was signed by Liverpool to evolve their frontline after the departure of Sadio Mane.

Initially, those comparisons didn’t do Nunez any favours. While Haaland hit the ground running in the PremierPINC
League, scoring goals for fun in his first few matches for City, Nunez struggled to grasp his role for Jurgen Klopp’s team. Some even as far as writing off the 23-year-old as a £85m flop.

Nunez still hasn’t completely acclimatised to his new surroundings on Merseyside, but there are signs he is ready to reach new heights for Liverpool once the Premier League season resumes after the World Cup break. Nunez is starting to understand his new team and his new team is starting to understand him.

Seven goals in Nunez’s last 10 Liverpool appearances before the World Cup break were the sign of a player who is growing in confidence. Klopp has experimented with a number of different formations to get the best out of his team amid a difficult start to the season and Nunez is now being used through the middle alongside Mohamed Salah.

“Darwin came here after a short break in the summer, arriving in Asia, didn’t speak a word [of English] and then being young, Liverpool is a big club, it is a big step for him and he was expensive and all these kind of things,” said Klopp. “Then all of a sudden, you play the first game and everybody is looking at you. It’s like the whole place is dark and there is only one light and it’s the spotlight on you. You have to deal with that – we all expect them to deal immediately with it, [to] be prepared, but it’s not like this.

“For all these things, his numbers are incredible, to be absolutely honest. If you speak about xGs, I am pretty sure his xGs are pretty high as well. He had a few chances which he missed, but he scored as well. He is involved in a lot of finishing moments, a lot of things. The steps he’s making are really big and that means automatically that he settles in more and more.”

Klopp has more on his mind than just Nunez. The German coach is seemingly at the start of a squad rebuild which will require him to address issues in various areas of the pitch. Liverpool’s midfield in particular needs replenishment with Thiago Alcantara, Fabinho and Jordan Henderson all over the age of 30.

However, Liverpool have already found a centre forward to build around for years to come. Nunez isn’t yet the finished article, but he possesses all the natural and technical attributes to become one of the best strikers of his generation. That’s why Liverpool paid £85m for him and there are signs their investment will come good.