Liverpool have quiet Darwin Nunez plan after Man City…

Liverpool have quiet Darwin Nunez plan after Man City take bold step with Erling Haaland

It was a Sunday of contrasts for the Premier League's new big-money forwards.

Over in Manchester, Pep Guardiola's team were putting on an all-singing, all-dancing show to mark the arrival of Erling Haaland. The champions struck a deal with Borussia Dortmund in May, but it was Sunday afternoon when the Norway international striker will finally have felt like a Manchester City player.

The unveiling of Haaland was an event attended by what appeared to be hundreds of City fans at the Etihad as the Citizens wasted little time hyping up their new centre-forward.

The event was not solely organised for the benefit of Haaland, it must be stressed, as City also wheeled out their other summer signings Stefan Ortega and Julian Alvarez, although Kalvin Phillips missed out through illness. The Norwegian, however, was the star attraction on the east side of Manchester.

Such overblown exercises have been commonplace in football for decades with Real Madrid perhaps perfecting the art during their 'Galacticos' era of the early 2000s, but while Haaland is undoubtedly one of Europe's hottest properties, the hullabaloo surrounding Sunday's event was curious given the forward arrives at 21 with just a German Cup with Dortmund and two Austrian Bundesliga titles with Red Bull Salzburg to his name.

Haaland was treated to a hero's welcome at the Etihad and his new club is undoubtedly keen to build up the excitement and interest following his capture. Given the sizable outlay that extends well beyond the matching of a relatively modest £51m release clause, that is entirely City's prerogative.

For the other high-profile striking addition at the top of the Premier League, however, it was a different story entirely over the weekend. Darwin Nunez, Liverpool's £64m signing from Benfica, was just another face as the Reds touched down in Thailand on Sunday morning ahead of their tour of the Far East.

The Reds flew out with a 37-man contingent on the playing side of things and Nunez was quietly getting set for work as their new leader of the line up top.

Unlike Haaland, there will be no extravagant ceremony to declare Nunez a Liverpool player. The Reds have a galaxy of stars on the pitch and likely don't feel the need to heave any additional pressure or hype onto a young striker who is about to undergo a steep learning curve as he aims to become a success at his new club.

Nunez was at the AXA Centre on Friday to put the finishing touches on his visa documents ahead of the flight out to Thailand, where the Uruguay international has trained with his new team-mates for the first time. The tour will be an important time for the 23-year-old as he looks to get to know Jurgen Klopp's players and integrate into a squad that is notable for its closeness throughout the tight-knit group.

Communication, for now, is set to be in Portuguese as the Brazilian contingent of Alisson Becker, Fabinho and Roberto Firmino help get their new colleague adjusted alongside Diogo Jota and assistant manager Pep Lijnders, who is also fluent thanks to his years with Porto.

But if Nunez was unsure as to the size of the football club he was joining this summer, then he will be left in no doubt by the time Liverpool leave the Far East later this month.

The comparing and the contrasting of Nunez and Haaland is expected to be one of the key themes of the coming season as both City and Liverpool look to adjust to a relatively new style of centre-forward up top, but day one of their respective tenures could scarcely have been more different.

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