Steve McManaman has explained why there will not be any pressure on Darwin Nunez to be an instant success at Liverpool.
The Reds signed the 23-year-old from Benfica last month after agreeing a deal worth up to £85m, which would be a club record. Nunez will wear the No.27 shirt at Anfield, which has been vacated by the departure of Divock Origi, who recently signed for AC Milan.
Nunez’s arrival added further quality to Jurgen Klopp’s forward ranks, despite the departure of Sadio Mane, to Bayern Munich, along with Origi and Takumi Minamino, who has joined Monaco. Diogo Jota, Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz, who signed in a £49m deal from Porto in January, will all be vying for regular starting spots alongside Nunez.
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And it's the competition for places up front that makes former Liverpool winger McManaman think the new boy will not be under pressure to start life well at Anfield.
“I don’t believe Darwin has to hit the ground running, but I believe he will have to contribute without a shadow or a doubt,” McManaman told Horseracing.net . “Liverpool still have four other forwards, so he’s not going to be expected to score 10 goals in August or whatever ‘hit the ground running’ means.
“Myself and other Liverpool fans have been spoiled, especially by Luis Díaz coming in and making an instant impact. Luis Díaz didn’t play every game but his level of form was excellent.
“I don’t expect Darwin Nunez to play every single game and I don’t believe he has to score all the time. I just believe he has to contribute when he’s called upon, like Luis Díaz did. He’s a 23 year-old Uruguayan, who doesn't know the language so he has to be given time to settle and then you’ll see the best of him.
“When you’ve already got Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Diogo Jota and Luis Díaz, then I don’t think there’s going to be a tonne of pressure on Darwin Nunez to put ten goals in the back of the net in the first six weeks of the season.”
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