Darwin Nunez has struggled to assert himself as a first-choice Liverpool centre-forward since signing from Benfica in a deal worth up to £85 million last summer.
Cody Gakpo has revealed he now considers himself to be a centre-forward. These would be damaging Darwin Nunez’s prospects of establishing himself as Liverpool’s first-choice number 9.
The Uruguayan frontman endured a frustrating debut season at Anfield. He found himself on the bench in the latter stages of the campaign as the likes of Gakpo and Diogo Jota caught the eye.
Could Nunez lose his number 9 spot at Liverpool?
Nunez is waiting for the chance to settle and adapt to the Premier League despite his huge price tag. However, it appears he is now facing stern competition to nail down a starting berth.
That’s because his team-mate, Gakpo has revealed he believes his best position is now centrally as opposed to out wide. It was something that was privately disclosed to him by Jurgen Klopp and assistant Pepijn Lijnders upon arrival at Merseyside.
“Jurgen Klopp and his assistant Pepijn Lijnders indicated what they wanted from me when I first went to Liverpool.
It took some getting used to in the beginning, but eventually I grew into the role and I would like to play in that position permanently.
I feel like I am getting better and better in that spot. At PSV, I played mainly from the left side. It was Guus Hiddink who first pointed out to me that I had to develop more broadly as a striker.
I didn’t want to believe that at the time. I felt comfortable on the left flank, but I am now convinced that the role of striker suits me.”
Nunez has often found himself shifted out to the left flank when starting for the Reds. But he played the majority of his football when Luis Diaz was out injured.
And now that the Columbian is back in the starting XI, there would be a lot of competition for places in attack.
Could it be a breakthrough season Darwin Nunez?
Nunez arrived with a lot of expectations and had big shoes to fill with Mane leaving Liverpool. His £85 million arrival was one of the high-profile signings in the PL and was also compared to Erling Haaland.
However, the Uruguayan was nowhere near the phenomenal Norwegian who ran away with the PL golden boot. Hence, Nunez is yet to prove his worth in Klopp’s team.
With Liverpool’s historic records with extraordinary goal-scorers, the 23-year-old has a lot of pressure to deliver.
Speaking in late April, Klopp declared he wanted to fine-tune Nunez’s ability to defend from the front before giving him a consistent run of games in a central role.
“He’s a centre forward but we need a specific set-up to play and defend from the centre but we have to understand as a team [to defend from the centre].
We’ve had to adapt to different defending and striker up front, that’s how it is.
Darwin is a player with a different skillset to all our other players. He is a machine. He is still adapting. His English is still not great.
How can a striker shine when the team is struggling? But he has had super moments. I understand Darwin is not always fine when he doesn’t start, smiling in my face, but it’s absolutely fine.
When we have 5/6 players up front, I have to make decisions. The door is miles open for all the boys. He was exceptional against Leeds. Everyone who came on was on fire.”
I’m a football enthusiast and an avid writer and someone who lives by the Bill Shankly quote, on a day to day basis.
