Liverpool forward Darwin Núñez has made real strides during the Reds’ recent revival. But his best days are yet to come, as an Erling Haaland comparison proves.
It is fair to say that it has been an eventful season for Darwin Núñez, with the forward having produced some truly memorable moments, for better and for worse. The Liverpool forward is, however, showing vital signs that his best days are yet to come on Merseyside.
When Darwin Núñez arrived at Anfield for a fee that could rise to a reported $102m (£85m/€96m), it was obvious that the pressure on the 23-year-old’s shoulders would be intense. With legendary winger Sadio Mané having departed the club following a glittering spell, it was clear that comparisons with the outgoing Senegalese man would abound during the season to follow. Nor did the simultaneous arrival of Erling Haaland at Manchester City help matters.
In some ways, the former Benfica forward’s form has fluctuated in tandem with Liverpool’s fortunes during what has been a mixed campaign for the Reds. But signs in more recent times have provided compelling evidence that the previous woes for both club and player may be a thing of the past.
Núñez showed real signs of finding his feet before the World Cup in Qatar, with three goals in four straight victories before he jetted off to the Middle East indicating that both he and Liverpool were finding their groove.
The mercurial striker failed to find the net for his country as Uruguay crashed out of the World Cup in the group stage. Upon his return to Merseyside, he very soon looked like a player bereft of confidence, with his woes in Qatar clearly having affected his form — he would go six games without a goal for Liverpool before his strike against Newcastle United last month.
In the time since his goal at St James’ Park, however, he has started to show his best form on a consistent basis, with five goal involvements in six games in all competitions, including two strikes in the historic 7-0 demolition of Manchester United at the weekend. The player now looks like he has regained the kind of swagger that earned him his move to Liverpool and, on the left-hand side of a new-look front three involving Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah, he has looked unplayable at points.
Among those praising that emergent front three has been Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher. He claimed on Sky Sports that this was beginning to look like the trio of the future, amid signs that it is ‘blossoming’.
In this position on the left, Núñez has registered an impressive nine goal involvements — seven goals and two assists — in just 11 appearances. It took time but it is clear now that Núñez is at his most effective out wide, where he can wreak havoc with his unpredictability, lightning pace and eye for goal.
In some ways, it is more exciting to wonder what the 23-year-old will be able to bring to the party next year, with him seemingly having now started to shake off the shackles of his struggles earlier in the season. Of course, barring a miracle against Real Madrid in the Champions League next week, Liverpool will end this season empty-handed when it comes to silverware, with a top-four finish now the only thing at stake.
But looking at the the current standings in terms of highest average expected goals in the Premier League this season, it may come as a surprise to see Núñez at the top of this list, even when compared with Haaland, who has 27 strikes to his name in the league this season. Intriguingly, the Liverpool forward has an average of 0.72 expected goals per 90 minutes, and is in in front of the Norwegian in this regard, who is on 0.70.
Eddie Nketiah (0.69), Gabriel Jesus (0.58) and Callum Wilson (0.56) also trail the Uruguayan, perhaps demonstrating that more is to come from the Reds hotshot. Clearly, Núñez is getting in the right positions, with the statistics indicating that he has missed more chances than he should have this season.
Fans will assert that Núñez has done more than enough already in a red shirt to demonstrate his immense Liverpool promise, suggesting that his best days may be yet to come. On this evidence, we might see the Uruguayan scale potentially unprecedented heights for the Reds in the future, with Haaland showing that the sky is really the limit in terms of numbers.
