Liverpool star Darwin Nunez has opened up on the language barrier causing him difficulties understanding Jurgen Klopp. But he appreciates the Anfield boss’ efforts since his transfer.
The Reds paid Benfica an initial £64m, plus £21m in potential add-ons, to secure a transfer for Nunez in June. Liverpool also handed the 23-year-old a £140k-a-week contract through to June 2028. Yet he has endured a mixed debut campaign since his arrival on Merseyside.
Nunez has cut an unpredictable figure at the top of Klopp’s frontline for 10 goals and three assists this season. He has featured in 25 of Liverpool’s fixtures across all competitions this term so far. The striker also had to miss three games due to a red card in August, however.
Referee Paul Tierney showed Nunez a straight red card during his first start in the Premier League against Crystal Palace. The 16-cap Uruguay forward headbutted Joachim Andersen early into the second half. He would then miss the Reds’ 2-1 defeat at Manchester United.
During his 12 next top-flight outings, Nunez has offered Klopp and Liverpool just four goals and an assist. He is also without a goal involvement in his past four Premier League outings since the World Cup. While he netted two of his hits against basement boys Southampton.
Nunez now reveals why he and Klopp ‘don’t understand each other’ at Liverpool
Nunez has almost always been central to Klopp’s attacking plans when he has featured for Liverpool, though. The Artigas-born striker often finds himself in goalscoring positions. But getting the ball across the line and into the back of the net has proven a much harder task.
Only Harry Kane (78), Aleksandar Mitrovic, Erling Haaland (74) and Mohamed Salah (60) in the Premier League have attempted more shots than Nunez (56) has so far this season, per WhoScored. But he also ranks third for off-target shots (23) to Mitrovic (31) and Salah (25).
One of the issues possibly holding Nunez back with Liverpool is the language barrier, which he admits causes problems with Klopp. The Uruguay star and German boss do not speak the same language at present. But Nunez wants to be able to understand everything soon.
“My teammates who speak Spanish are always translating because I still don’t understand a lot of things,” Nunez told Sky Sports. “But watch out because I am taking English classes. I hope that in a year and a half, minimum, I will be able to understand everything.
“[Klopp] doesn’t speak Spanish and I don’t speak English, so we don’t understand each other. But ever since I arrived at Liverpool, he has always given me confidence.”
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
