Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has moved to heap praise on striker Darwin Nunez after his improvement in recent weeks.
Darwin Nunez has changed his game to offer much more off the ball for Liverpool.
That is the view of boss Jurgen Klopp, who was speaking to the club’s official website after beating West Ham United 3-1.
Klopp’s Reds took the lead from the penalty spot as Mohamed Salah opened the scoring, only for Jarrod Bowen to level it up.
Nunez then fired Liverpool ahead with a volley before substitute Diogo Jota wrapped up a Liverpool victory at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp praises Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez
The second half was a great encapsulation of Nunez as a player.
The Uruguayan had a golden chance to put Liverpool in front but wildly blazed a shot wide with the goal at his mercy.
Nunez then latched onto an Alexis Mac Allister pass to fire a difficult volley past Alphonse Areola.
The ridiculous to the sublime, missing the easy one but scoring the tougher one; Nunez is a real enigma at times.
Klopp likes what he sees though, stating that Nunez has taken ‘massive steps’ in his development in the last few weeks.
Klopp added that Nunez is a real ‘threat’ in the final third and actually thinks the biggest difference in his game is his defensive input, which is more controlled than before.
“Massive steps in the last few weeks,” said Klopp. “He is a threat. You all saw the goal, it was probably pretty good, right? That was really strong. He was always available for us, it is super-important for us that we have now – I am not sure it’s the right word – a ball player. Chip the ball there, get it on the chest and play from there, like we scored the third at Wolves for example.”
“I think that was a similar situation and super-important for us. The defensive work he puts in now, that’s probably the main difference. He always wanted, but it was less coordinated. Now that looks much better and we found a way how we can do it around him,” he added.
Nunez has a chance to nail down Liverpool starting role
We all know that Nunez has bags of talent but he can seem incredibly inconsistent.
The 24-year-old – who cost Liverpool £64million rising to £85million last summer – has shown moments but simply needs to be put it all together.
The fact is that Liverpool don’t have anybody who can offer the speed and physicality like Nunez.
Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota are quality attackers in their own right but just don’t have the athletic qualities of Nunez.
Now with three goals and one assist in just 221 minutes of Premier League action this season, Nunez is posing a real threat and will surely have the chance to nail down a regularly starting role at Liverpool.
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