Gary Neville believes Darwin Nunez could become a "world-class striker" if he improves his record in front of goal - as his Liverpool form continues to be scrutinised.
Nunez, 23, is under huge pressure to deliver on Merseyside following his £85million switch from Benfica in June. The Uruguayan has shown plenty of promise since the big-money transfer - scoring nine goals - but is struggling to prove he's the real deal.
Nunez faced more scrutiny on Friday night after failing to score in the 2-1 Premier League win against Leicester at Anfield. He did play a pivotal role in Liverpool's first goal and caused Foxes defender Wout Faes - who found his own net twice - plenty of problems.
Although Nunez isn't finding the net as freely as Manchester City striker Erling Haaland - who now has 27 goals for the season after the draw 1-1 against Everton on Saturday afternoon - Neville believes he can establish himself as one of Europe's top strikers.
"When you seen him cut across Faes, I thought that was devastating," Neville told Sky Sports. "It’s a fine line. He’s a handful, he doesn’t score the goals but if he does score the goals, he’ll be world class. I’ve got a feeling he could end up being that world class striker."
The biggest criticism of Nunez is his wastefulness in front of goal, as he's missed a number of big opportunities this season. It was a different story at Benfica last term, where he scored 34 goals in all competitions - with six of those coming in the Champions League.
Do you think Darwin Nunez will live up to his billing at Liverpool? Let us know in the comments below!
Neville continued: "Physically, I think he [Nunez] will mature. If you look at Haaland’s body, he’ll always be bigger and stronger but he will get bigger and stronger the more mature, the more older he plays in this league.
"I think it will just start to happen, he’ll start scoring and scoring, particularly if Liverpool keep adding and adding good players. I’m 70 per cent [sure] he will go on to be a top striker in this league and become one of the very best in the world."
Jamie Carragher added: "I think it's exactly what we've seen, when you’re saying your happy with those performances because you’re thinking if he can score imagine how good the performance would be... At the moment he's a handful, but to make that next step to be a top class, world class striker, he needs to score."
Klopp was keen to defend Nunez during his pre-match press conference on Thursday. He claims the forward reminds him of a young Robert Lewandowski, who scored just nine goals during his debut season at Borussia Dortmund. The Poland international found the net 30 times for Klopp's side the following term.
Klopp said: "There are a lot of similarities to be honest. I think Lewy would tell the same story. We had shooting sessions where he didn't finish off one.
"We had bets all the time for €10, 'If you score more than 10 times, I will pay you 10 - if you don't, you have to pay me'. My pocket was full of money! It's all about staying calm. When you see the potential, stay calm."
