Darwin Nunez has been a fascinating player to watch for Liverpool this season, with his highs being balanced out by regular lows.
The scrutiny was always likely to be intense on Nunez. He arrived in a high-profile transfer from Benfica over the summer for an initial fee of £64million, which could rise to a club-record £85m with add-ons. That price tag brings expectation and a 23-year-old striker playing for a club as big as Liverpool was always going to have struggles.
The first major piece of criticism was entirely justified. Nunez’s red card for headbutting Joachim Andersen on his full Premier League debut was an act of stupidity and naivety. The more recent comments concern a more basic attribute expected of a striker: goal scoring.
And while Nunez’s fiery nature is likely to bring more flashpoints throughout his Liverpool career, there are plenty of indications that he has what it takes to hit his stride in front of goal.
The latest round of discussion about Nunez has been sparked by his dreadful miss in Liverpool’s 3-0 win over Ajax on Wednesday night. It was the kind of mistake which keeps strikers up at night. Roberto Firmino provided him with a free shot at an unguarded net, only for Nunez to put his left-footed shot onto the post.
Andy Robertson said after the final whistle that Nunez was “really angry” with himself for the miss. But he didn’t dwell on it for long, heading in Robertson’s corner to make it 2-0 shortly after the break.
He now has six goals and one assist in 13 appearances across all competitions this season. That is a decent ratio, especially when you consider that only seven of those appearances have been starts – and that he’s scored in each of his last four starts.
Jurgen Klopp is certainly not worried about Nunez’s form and his post-match comments in Amsterdam points to the reason why. “He had a really good game in both directions,” Klopp told BT Sport. “He played with a big heart today and I liked that a lot, so hopefully we won’t be talking about [the miss] earlier.”
Klopp’s messaging on Nunez has been crystal clear since Liverpool signed him: the transfer fee is not relevant and he needs time. While he has to use assistant Pep Lijnders and others to pass that message on to Nunez himself, it is something being picked up on the outside.
Former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch endured an 18-match goal drought after joining the club after their famous Champions League win in 2005 so knows the feelings Nunez is experiencing.
“He is in the best place in the world. If he is struggling or has a lack of confidence, the fans will always be behind him when plenty of other fans would be so quick to turn on their striker that cost that amount of money,” he said on BT Sport. “He is working hard and Klopp is impressed with how hard he works offensively and defensively.”
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Rio Ferdinand had a similar take after the Ajax win. “There was good and bad,” he said. “There were moments when you were scratching your head and wondering what he was thinking, and then in other moments you could see the potential. The one thing that stands out for him is he is always trying to get in there, his head never goes down.
“He is tenacious, he wants to graft, he wants to fight and that is something you want in your side. I don’t think he is ever going to be the cleanest of strikers, but he is going to be an effective striker in the long run. As a defender, he would be one of those strikers who asks you questions all game.”
You can teach strikers how to score goals. Imbuing tenacity is much harder. The consensus is clear. If he is afforded the patience required, then Nunez will come good.
