Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez Struggling?

Liverpool’s summer signing Darwin Nunez has started just one of the team’s last seven games, leading to speculation about his long-term role in the side. While this may be coincidental, it is clear that Nunez remains a work in progress. His 15 goals and four assists are respectable, but early comparisons to Erling Haaland served to ratchet up expectations and heap undue pressure on the Uruguayan. Despite joining Man City aged just 22, Haaland had already notched 135 goals in 182 senior club appearances, while Nunez had only truly emerged as a regular goal-getter in the previous 12 months. Nunez’s rawness was undeniable, and his lack of game time centrally is telling. He has won five challenges in the final third so far this Premier League season, according to FBRef, while his direct competition has significantly higher stats. Jurgen Klopp’s reminder that pressing is a pre-requisite for any Liverpool player wanting a start may have been a shot across the bowels, and his lamenting of the time it’s taking Nunez to learn English points to some frustration behind the scenes. The Uruguayan’s possession stats make for interesting reading, as he completes 64.5 percent of the passes he attempts, which pales in comparison to his team-mates competing for those three forward positions. This may have compelled Liverpool to make a move for Cody Gakpo in January, thus abandoning their new Plan A. Gakpo is growing into the false nine role, looking more like Roberto Firmino’s true heir apparent by the week. This raises questions as to Nunez’s role in the medium to long-term. While he has fared admirably on the left flank, it was always a temporary measure, and he is not yet trusted to take on the responsibility of leading the line as part of Liverpool’s upcoming rebuild. It is too early to write off a player adapting to a new league and way of life, but Klopp and Liverpool must decide whether they have the patience to nurture Nunez’s talent when hitting the ground running next season is of paramount importance.