ESPN pundit Steve Nicol has made a big claim about who should start for Liverpool against Ipswich Town on the opening day of the Premier League season.
Arne Slot’s Liverpool have had a successful pre-season under the Dutchman with Liverpool recording victories over Manchester United and Arsenal.
Slot was chosen as the man to replace Jurgen Klopp at Anfield with the former Feyenoord boss certainly having big shoes to fill for the Reds.
Liverpool have yet to make a signing during the season but nevertheless, things look promising for the Merseyside club with teenage midfielder Trey Nyoni making a big impact and some big decisions will need to be made about who starts against newly-promoted Ipswich Town.
Steve Nicol believes Darwin Nunez should be dropped
During the 2024 Copa America, Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez made quite the impact for his national team under Marcelo Bielsa.
At one point, Nunez had scored seven goals in seven games for the national team but Steve Nicol, speaking on ESPN, believes that Diogo Jota has to start over the Uruguayan striker.
“I think Jota is one of the best finishers in the Premier League and that’s the reason I’ve got him ahead of Nunez,” Nicol said.
“That’s (finishing) the one thing that Nunez has to get better at. Jota is a better finisher than him and with a new manager coming in you’ve got to want to have a good start, you can’t think about the future.
“Right now, in terms of finishing, he’s not where he should be. Jota is where he should be and that’s why I’d start him (Jota) against Ipswich.”
Nunez has a lot to prove under Slot
Since his move to Anfield from Portuguese giants SL Benfica back in the summer of 2022, Nunez has been frustratingly inconsistent for the Reds.
Slot has been told by Frank Lebouef to drop ‘clumsy’ Nunez but the Dutchman worked miracles with Santiago Gimenez.
Gimenez has since been linked with Tottenham and the Dutchman will be hoping he can perform the same miracles with Nunez.
Last season for Liverpool, Nunez played 54 games for Liverpool with the Uruguayan scoring 18 goals and providing 13 assists for the Reds.
This season promises to be an important one for Nunez if he is to finally justify his price tag for Liverpool.
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