Darwin Núñez, the forward from Uruguay, is expected to achieve his goal at Liverpool after matching a record set by Luis Suárez during the international break.
Things are looking bright for Liverpool at the moment. Jürgen Klopp’s new 2.0 Liverpool side has made a solid start to the season and the club’s stars are returning in brilliant form from the international break. Among them is Darwin Núñez, who has played a key role in Uruguay’s success.
With three goals in qualifying against Argentina and Bolivia, Núñez added to his tally to make him the top scorer in South American World Cup qualifying. Not only that, but he’s also got the most goal contributions out of anyone in the continent’s campaign as well with eight.
To demonstrate just how good he has been, it speaks volumes that Núñez became only the third Uruguayan to score in four consecutive World Cup Qualifying matches after Luis Suárez and Rubén Sosa. Those are some names to be on par with, especially the former who was a Liverpool talisman himself.
Suárez himself is still in the fold with Uruguay, but even he now knows who the main man is. “I am in a role that leaves me very happy, trying to help with whatever I have to,” Suarez said (via ESPN Uruguay).
“I have one of the best nines in the world ahead of me, which is Darwin Núñez. We have to take advantage of it and enjoy it . What I have to do is contribute in what I have to do,”
But this is just the beginning for the Uruguayan. He’s only getting started at Liverpool. In the past, Núñez has always taken a little while to get going. This was the case when he first moved to Almería and initially struggled to make his mark.
At first, he couldn’t break into the starting XI, similar to how he struggled to do the same at Liverpool last season. But as the club’s assistant coach, David Badia, recalled to Liverpool.com, the Uruguayan didn’t let that affect him.
“He’s open to listening, he’s open to working and the coaches love players like that,” said Badia. “Ones that you know are listening when you are speaking and they are not thinking that they know everything.
“He is also a player that is always trying to improve himself. At Almería, he was asking what is the best way to do something better in training every day, and then, of course, when he was missing in some actions in the training, he didn’t like it, and he tried to improve, and he tried to be better every day.”
When Núñez moved to Benfica, he similarly struggled to assimilate to the club initially. His first season only reaped 14 goals, which was majorly disappointing for someone who was the club’s record transfer at the time. Yet in his second season, the Uruguayan bounced back and produced a campaign that was enough for Liverpool to lure him to Anfield.
Earlier this summer, Liverpool.com predicted the same will happen at Liverpool this season. Based on the fact that he is averaging a goal contribution every 63 minutes for club and country so far this season, that prediction may have already come true. But this is far from the finish line, the exciting prospect is the fact that Núñez’s best is still yet to come.
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