Newcastle striker Callum Wilson has explained why he’s confident Darwin Nunez will be a good player for Liverpool

Newcastle striker Callum Wilson has leapt to the defence of Liverpool star Darwin Nunez.

The Reds forward has been the subject of criticism in his debut season at Anfield. Liverpool agreed a deal with Benfica in the summer that could reach up to £85.5m with certain add-ons.

Since his arrival, Nunez has scored 10 goals in 26 appearances for Liverpool. Despite still managing to find the back of the net, the Uruguay international has still been criticised by certain pundits and sections of opposition fans.

Wilson, who has scored twice in his 10 appearances against Liverpool, has defended Nunez. The Newcastle striker, speaking alongside West Ham star Michail Antonio on the Footballers’ Football Podcast, explained why he’s in no doubts that Nunez will be a good player for the Reds.

“He’s got more goals than me and Michail together combined! So I’m not saying nothing about him man!” said Wilson.

“What I will say is that he is young, he’s 23 years old, he has just come to the Premier League which is a difficult league. It’s not a league for boys, it’s a league for men and at the end of the day he’s come from a league which is a little bit different.

“It’s going to take him time to adapt. But there’s obviously no chill on social media so any little thing that happens is becoming a big thing and he’s going to see that, he’s going to be sent that [meme] and he’s going to see people laughing at that.

“And then it just makes you go more and more inward, especially at that age. He seems like a vibrant guy, like a no nonsense kind of guy, so he just has to stick his chest out and keep going. If you miss the chances, so what.

“As long as you are in position to make those chances you’re not going to keep missing. The clinical finishing will come over time after he’s playing more regularly and he’s played in this league for a little while.”