He has, but we’ve also found a tad of form in that time, and notably with players who are playing their role well on both sides of the ball. Nunez is still on a steep part of the learning curve and while his raw enthusiasm and hard running often was one of the few things that gave us any threat that was earlier in the season when we were struggling to look like a team who knew what they were trying to do. We’ve seen some shoots of recovery in his recent absence and that means his raw individualism takes away a bit from what we’re now bringing rather than being the benefit it was.
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Pressing does not equal running around. Especially not as a forward.
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And yet Jota has scored 4 in his last 3. Bigger threat than that?
Yes.
At the moment, yes.
Nobody knows, I’d imagine not so much the case.
Klopp said it, right now the ticket to get into this team is how we defend and counter-press from the front. That doesn’t mean purely running and closing people down, it needs to have understanding.
Obviously Nunez is something very different to what we have. He’s got a pre-season and next season to prove himself. We have to prove to ourselves that both Salah and Nunez can play in their best positions and we can play our best football in that structure.
If he doesn’t fully make it here, which is well possible, it is how it is. Wouldn’t be the first time and it surely won’t be the last.
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If he just starts to put some more of his gilt edged chances away than he has… his goals tally per 90 would become really impressive. As it is now, these read almost identical to Salah - next season is when I believe he will really begin to shine for us
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I think the balance up top looks wrong.
Diaz, Gakpo, Salah - as a front three that’s fine, and the balance is there.
Where does Nunez fit in? Well, he can replace Gakpo in the front three, and can also play from the left if Diaz is out.
Where does Jota fit in? He can rotate with any of them, and once up to speed, as we are now seeing after injury, he is a good player.
If that’s the way forward, fine, but I’m a bit underwhelmed by the Nunez purchase and usage, at that point. I think he has the tools to be devastating for us, and if we can unlock it - there’s work for all sides to do - then watch out! It’s at that point that I am puzzled.
Let’s imagine a fit and flying Nunez. What do our strikers look like then?
Will we get four of them in the side? Or might we play Gakpo in a box midfield, as part of the advanced 2 in a 3223?
Usually I have a clear picture in my mind as to what we are doing, or trying to do, but when I look at our strikers, the picture is fuzzy for me!
It may appear amusing but this isn’t cool. If he’s still not understanding instructions, how is he supposed to do his job?
The language barrier shouldn’t be this impactful.
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And that’s exactly why he finds himself on the bench. I find it actually very good from Klopp to send him the message that without learning the language, there will be no first team place for him. It’s as clear as it gets, and if the lad has some brain cells in his head, it will motivate him over the summer to work on his English. 
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I despair at stuff like this. It was the same with Keita. Footballers aren’t exactly time poor. There was nothing to stop Darwin hiring a private tutor on day one and getting the basics.
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I think we are despairing a bit too much. He has played some games and he has played well (15 goals) in most of those. He has hit a rough patch which is quite normal for a new lad.
He hasn’t much brain, but maybe he has at least a few brain cells to finally get the message and learn at least the basics. We’ll see.
Would end up like every American High School movie where the captain of the football team asks the cute girl in class to come over and help him with his homework.
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Sadly only some skill in German and Portuguese.
You only need English (scouse)
It’s not black and white. Language certainly isn’t the main or only problem why he’s not starting now. But it’s not helping either. Diaz also didn’t speak a word of English and made a very positive impact on the pitch. Countless examples where foreign players either had better or worse starts, regardless of their English.
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Fairly judgemental of a lad you probably don’t even know.
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I agree but the issue is not so much starting with no English but not appearing to have picked up much after 9 months. As @Mascot has said, there really is no excuse: he’s got the time and access to private tuition from @mattyhurst. Anyway hopefully it’s just a ST language thing (I am also shit house at them) and he’s going to integrate amazingly over preseason and next season be the beast that the club obviously expected. However I think Klopp has put him on notice that he needs to do better.
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I’m going to guess he’s more of the nerdy kid that everyone ignores but then has a “make over” which involves taking off his glasses and suddenly they realise he’s been the cute girl all along 