MY ACCOUNT
Liverpool splashed the cash to sign Darwin Nunez last June — and the Uruguayan striker is starting to shine on Merseyside.
The Reds parted with a club-record £85million fee to secure Nunez’s signature, in the same summer that rivals Manchester City brought Erling Haaland to the Etihad Stadium.
And while Liverpool’s No27 is yet to reach the heights of his Norwegian counterpart, he is becoming an increasingly important figure at Anfield.
As Jurgen Klopp’s men prepare to face Leeds this evening, we put the club’s big-money centre forward under the microscope.
Finding form
Nunez made a blistering start to life at Liverpool — scoring in the 3-1 Community Shield victory over Manchester City, before registering a goal and an assist against Fulham on the Premier League’s opening weekend.
However, the goals soon dried up for the 23-year-old, who failed to find the net in his next six outings across all competitions.
The Reds’ struggles certainly contributed to that barren spell — alongside a lack of consistent starts — but Nunez’s fortunes have started to improve in recent weeks.
He has scored in his last two league starts against Arsenal and West Ham, while also finding the net in European fixtures against Rangers and Ajax.
Making minutes count
A total of three league goals by late October does not make for particularly eye-catching reading — but Nunez’s limited game time cannot be underestimated.
The 13-cap international has only played 342 minutes of Premier League football this term, yet has averaged a goal every 114 minutes over that period.
Just three players — Harry Kane, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Haaland — can better that record.
And Nunez’s output looks even more impressive when you consider that all of his strikes have come from open play. Only Haaland (1.65) has more open play goals per 90 minutes than the former Benfica marksman (0.79).
Ready to explode
Nunez’s underlying numbers suggest that the goals will continue to flow for the Liverpool ace.
He has managed more shots per 90 than any other Premier League player (7.37), as well as registering more efforts on target (2.63).
The 6ft 2in attacker is also posting an expected goals (xG) per 90 figure of 0.86 — that is even better than his current scoring rate and the division’s third-best record.
Up to speed
Klopp was full of praise for Nunez after his impactful substitute appearance against Manchester City earlier this month — revealing that there is even more to come from the South American.
He said: “I like his [Nunez’s] impact, really. He’s a machine. He’s physically incredibly strong.
“He gets there and in training, you can see him getting better every day. You can really see how he settles more and more.
“He’s in the team now, mind-wise 100%. He’s arrived completely.
“He wants to score more goals and set up more goals as well. That will all happen but it always takes time.”
Shouldering the burden
Liverpool possess an impressive array of attackers — but injuries have decimated the Reds’ frontline.
Luis Diaz has succumbed to a knee injury, while fellow attacker Diogo Jota is out with a calf issue.
Both players are not due back before 2023, so an increased burden will be placed on the shoulders of their remaining forwards.
The Merseysiders have five fixtures before the World Cup in Qatar — and Nunez is likely to be a mainstay in the starting XI.
Expect the powerful striker to make a big impact in the weeks ahead.
