The joy of Darwin Nunez, the most exciting player Liverpool have had for some time
The Uruguayan is the kind of player fans - and journalists - love to see
I’m going to start today’s column with a bit of a confession.
You know the way football fans have their favourites? Well so do football journalists.
I know. Shocking, right?
Usually, those favourites are the players who help us write colourful copy, those with interesting stories and big personalities, a bit of edge. They’re the ones we like.
If they can play a bit too, that helps. And from a personal perspective, I want someone who can get me off my seat in the press box, someone who tries things, someone brilliant but fallible. Someone a bit different.
Darwin Núñez, then, is already well on the way to becoming a firm favourite.
There’s something about Liverpool’s new Uruguayan star, isn’t there?
In fact, I think he might just be the most exciting player the Reds have had in years.
I should qualify that statement. Of course Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané were and are exciting. They’re favourites too, as it happens. And yes, when Thiago Alcântara does that drop of the shoulder and those disguised passes, you can’t help but smile. The same when Trent Alexander-Arnold unfurls one of those guided missiles from right to left. It’s art, as far as I’m concerned.
But there’s something different about Nunez, something you don’t see often, especially in centre-forwards. He’s efficient - a goal every 107 minutes this season, if you’re counting - but unorthodox too. Anything can happen, and it is that which makes him so thrilling to observe.
You know that whenever he’s on the field, he’s going to get chances, and lots of them. Per 90 minutes, he ranks first in the Premier League season for shots, shots on target (level with Erling Haaland), touches in the opposition box and big chances.
What you don’t know is which chances he will take, and how spectacularly he will take them. He’s as capable of missing the easy ones, as he did at Ajax on Wednesday, as taking the hard ones, and while Jurgen Klopp will hope that changes over time, it certainly makes for great entertainment, and adds a layer of unpredictability that Liverpool have arguably needed for some time.
It’s clear, even from such a limited sample size, what Núñez is all about. He never stops moving, and he’s incredibly direct. He’s forever on the shoulder of defenders, and always in the thick of things when a ball finds its way into the penalty area. He also works his tail off, which will always buy a player time and credit in the eyes of supporters. Núñez, clearly, is already popular with Kopites.
There’s a bit of Fernando Torres in the runs he makes - and in the fact that he can look a little cumbersome when asked to play with his back to goal and link the play, for that matter. Torres, like Núñez, was a good striker with a good reputation when he arrived but he took his game to the next level at Anfield, and it’s easy to imagine Núñez will do similar. How could he not, with Salah, Bobby Firmino, Luis Diaz, Thiago, Andy Robertson and Alexander-Arnold to provide the bullets?
Watching the Ajax game, one thing struck me above all else. Earlier this season, I spoke to Pedro Emanuel, who was Núñez’s coach when he arrived in Europe with Almeria back in 2019, for a GOAL feature.
Emanuel, who now manages in Saudi Arabia, was, as you would expect, very complimentary about his former player.
He told me: “Darwin has a special formula, if I can say it like this, of skills, mentality, willingness to listen and belief in his own abilities, which means he can become one of the best players around.”
But it was something else Emanuel said which stuck with me.
“Mentally, he has developed,” he said. “The weakness I saw when he arrived was that if he missed a chance, he would worry, and it would take him some time to move on.
"We worked on that, and you see the difference in the last two or three years. He has more personality now, as you saw in pre-season with Liverpool. He missed a few chances and the pressure came, but what happened? He scored four goals against Leipzig. He carried on, kept believing and the rewards came.”
Andy Robertson picked up on a similar theme this week. Núñez, he said, was “angry” in the dressing room at half time, having missed a chance that would have had social media in meltdown mode, but there was never any danger of it affecting him in the second half.
“I sat next to him,” Robertson said. “And I don’t know if he understood a word I said, but I said ‘I’ll put a cross on your head and you’ll score, no problem.’
“He used that disappointment in terms of being angry and wanting to be in front of goal again. He didn’t shy away from it and scored an unbelievable goal, which is what good strikers do - they react.”
That’s a theme with Núñez. He clearly knows what people are saying about him - his ‘resiliencia’ tweet in the summer certainly suggests so - but there’s been no sign of him taking a backwards step, maybe playing a bit safer, keeping his head down and steering clear of the limelight.
If anything, he looks to embrace it. He wants to go for the spectacular volleys, the first-time efforts. He wants to find the net and then stick his fingers in his ears, silence his critics. Just a shit Andy Carroll? Have that.
Carroll scored 11 goals in 18 months at Liverpool and had no cultural or language barriers to overcome. Núñez, whose English is non-existent, has six in 13 games, and four in his last four starts. He may not be the most polished of diamonds, but he’s going to be damn good, I’m certain of that.
And best of all, he’s going to be extremely fun to watch as he improves and evolves.
Welcome to Darwinism, the Liverpool Way. Strap yourselves in for the ride.
Elsewhere…
Thiago’s ear infection has cleared up in time for the Spaniard to face Leeds on Saturday night. Jordan Henderson should also be fit despite suffering a painful bang to the knee against Ajax.
Klopp hinted at another change of system in his pre-match press conference - a return to 4-3-3, perhaps? The bench, at least, should be a little stronger than it was at Forest, and a fair bit of pressure has been taken off that Napoli game in midweek too.
Klopp also confirmed that Arthur Melo - remember him? - was staying on Merseyside to complete his rehab from the thigh injury that looks set to rule him out until the New Year. He was asked whether there was a chance Liverpool might look to terminate his loan early and send the Brazilian back to Juventus. “No, he is here for the season,” was the reply. Whether we’ll see much of him is another matter.
As for Leeds, they’ve got a fair few problems heading into this weekend’s game, with the likes of Rodrigo Moreno, Luis Sinisterra, Liam Cooper and Tyler Adams all doubtful. They’ve lost their last four, and haven’t won in eight in the league, but Klopp reckons their performances have been better than their results.
There are a few decent Premier League games this weekend, with Leicester hosting Manchester City in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off . Chelsea are at Brighton, Spurs are at Bournemouth and Everton take on Fulham in the 5.30 game. Arsenal v Nottingham Forest and Manchester United v West Ham is the ‘Super’ Sunday offering.
Liverpool U18 and U21 sides are both in action on Saturday. The 18s are away to Wolves at 12noon, while the 21s take on West Ham down in London at 5pm. There was disappointment in the UEFA Youth League on Wednesday, where Barry Lewtas’ side was beaten 3-1 by Ajax, but they’re still in pole position to top the group and secure a last-16 berth. And Ben Doak still looks the business.
There’s a big one for the Women’s side on Sunday as they take on Manchester City at the Etihad Campus (2pm). Matt Beard’s side had a fine win in midweek, beating Leicester 4-0 in the Continental Cup. Check out Rachel Furness’ strike in that game if you haven’t already. Top bin, and then some.
Great write up Neil, loving these updates, I do think the 433 if flawed is the way to go, the midfield just seems to be a lot more solid when fabinho has some more protection.