Jurgen Klopp is afraid of the heights Darwin Nunez could reach if his goal-scoring form continues – and it appears that the rest of the Premier League should be, too, with the striker rapidly unlocking his true potential at Liverpool.
Many pundits dismissed Nunez after a difficult first season on Merseyside, but those critics have since been silenced. His first season at the club was not bad, but it is fair to say he did not live up to the lofty expectations that followed his £85 million move from Benfica.
He was not helped by Erling Haaland’s phenomenal goal-scoring rate at Manchester City, which was portrayed by broadcasters as a showdown of strikers as the Premier League’s main protagonists ahead of last season.
Nunez was also bothered by how long it took him to adjust to his new surroundings.
He arrived with limited English language skills, which hampered him somewhat, while Klopp believed his off-the-ball work needed to improve to secure a starting spot.
On his Anfield debut, he was sent off for a headbutt on Crystal Palace defender Joachim Andersen and was later banned for three games. That moment summed up Nunez’s frustrating, injury-plagued, and underwhelming debut season in England.
But that’s all behind him now. Nunez is now letting his numbers speak for him rather than critics. Liverpool has seven goals and five assists, for a goal average of 0.93, up from 0.57 last season.
This season, only Callum Wilson has a higher non-penalty xG (expected goals) in the Premier League, putting Nunez ahead of heavyweights Haaland and Co. He’s averaging 10 touches in the opposition box per game, up from 8.22 last year, and facing a league-high 4.9 shots per game.
Nunez’s ‘golden ticket’ to the first team, according to Klopp, will be his work rate off the ball and contribution to defensive dirty work. Nunez’s statistics are also promising. He’s averaging 1.33 tackles per game, up from 0.61 last season, and his possession won numbers are also improving.
On Friday, the German stated that he is ‘afraid’ of the heights the Uruguayan can reach in English football if he realizes his full potential, adding that the atmosphere around the striker is ‘different’ this season.
‘It’s completely different now, the first year was hard for him and then hard for me,’ said Klopp ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Luton. ‘You saw this incredible talent with enormous potential, but it is difficult to realize.’
‘I don’t speak Spanish, and he didn’t speak English either, but his English has improved significantly. You can see him around the building now, and he is in a good mood. I’m afraid of the highs he could achieve because there’s so much there.
‘Last year, especially when things were not going particularly well, it was critical that everything was set up perfectly, and we needed a No 9 who defended perfectly (from the front) in a way Darwin was unable to do at the time… He can now.
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