On current form it wouldn’t surprise me if he did nothing.
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And yet elsewhere in the game…he acted as peacemaker when it became heated…so who do we have…Jekyl or Hyde…a combination of both might help…
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It’s these little things that make me think he’s very much one of those players who won’t really shine until they’re in their late twenties.
There’s just so much that he needs to sort out. The biggest issue right now is his mentality. Forget everything else said about intelligence and so on, if you transplanted Salah’s mentality into him you’d get a much-improved player immediately. Salah gets frustrated, but he genuinely doesn’t stop believing. With Núñez you can see that he stops believing and then all the silly little things start happening.
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You’re right, the price tag is (more or less) irrelevant, especially with the inflated price tags of this day and age. That said, it still makes him our record signing, and when that amount of money is spent then you’re expecting - justifiably - a player that would not just need a minimal bedding-in time, but be able to hit the ground at full pelt. He’s not just been miles from that, but utter light years from it.
In terms of his ego/complaining, I think he has one (all strikers do, it’s part of the game) but confidence is another thing, and his is completely gone. Not just in his game at the moment, but in terms of his career at Liverpool. Was watching the highlights (high is doing a lot of heavy lifting there!) of the match, and his yellow card against De Ligt seemed very much a premeditated thing. As someone else pointed out, all he had to do was survive the 30 minute cameo without doing anything stupid, and his four yellow cards were wiped out - a fact I am SURE was relayed to him before coming on - but it took him mere moments to pick up another yellow guaranteeing him a suspension. I dunno if I’d go so far as to suggest getting a suspension was intentional, but he’s certainly not giving anyone the idea that he’s a striker who’s hungry to be in the side, and raring to grab his chance.
His excuses are gone at this point as far as I’m concerned. If there was truth the rumour that Milan were willing to take him for £40m, I’d be biting their hands off.
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I’d drive him to the airport for that.
The biggest issue for him is, sadly, I think he’s just a bit thick. The yellow card last night is an absolutely ludicrous thing to do. But there are other examples. Fuck knows how he got away with getting embroiled in crowd trouble while playing for Uruguay - I really thought he might cop a long ban for that. His efforts of the pitch suggest a lad not fully in control of his emotions, unable to be rational and calm.
One thing we definitely know about FSG, and Edwards, is that they want to see the money on the pitch. They will consider it better to write off £40m and get the other £40m on the pitch, than have £80m sat on the bench doing fuck all.
The Nunez signing, which I believe was very much driven by Jurgen, should really embolden FSG, Edwards and Hughes to get back to what we did best at the height of their powers - spending the money wisely and efficiency, with no diligence left unexplored.
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The no dickheads rule?
I don’t think he has a problem with that. What he does seem to have a problem with according to many fans, is the “no thickheads rule”.
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Yeah I mean, I understand that finding hidden gems or better to say, not always the most obvious transfer targets can be more difficult for Liverpool when we’re at the top of our game than when we’re (or were) building towards it. The standard went up with years.
But still, taking that into account, in the next transfer windows (if Edwards, Hughes and the team around/below them has finally settled), you want to see us making shrewd business. A bit better than the numerous deals (not only transfers but contract dealings) in the few problematic years between Edwards leaving and Edwards returning.
With Nunez, for me, it’s just a lack of overall quality and intelligence also. He’s just not that good and the apparent tools which would make him better “if only he did x or z or if the stars would align for him…”, are overrated in the first place. Seen it and heard it many times with other players before.
The potential portrayed (or imagined) at times vs what you’re seeing from players throughout certain careers, the difference is rarely that massive. “If only Balotelli had mentality”, he would be what… Pele? Well ladies and gentlemen, mentality is a damn important thing. And it’s more than one factor, be it mentality or intelligence or “if only Nunez could finish”. There are clear and obvious reasons why there is struggle.
As for his intelligence, if he was more intelligent, even having limited quality, he could put in solid to pretty good performances on a more consistent basis than he is. Understand better how to work with what he has around and he has some real quality, variety in styles, etc.
This is just too wild. Sometimes we get something good from him because he’s a good athlete with the odd nice technical touch here and there, other times it’s like having a player less on the pitch. Halfway through his 3rd season, that’s not enough. Regardless if he was £10m or £85m. Regardless if you’re rooting that little bit more for him or not.
I root for Liverpool and what’s best for us.
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I still think Nunez is a very good player but he needs to play in a system that suits him - which appears to be in a front two with a strike partner.
I believe that this was highlighted when we signed him, but Klopp thought he could adapt. Three seasons, and two managers in, it doesn’t look like that is going to happen. I don’t see moving him now being in our interests (unless we have an obvious replacement) but I don’t think it is in anyone’s interests keeping him beyond the end of the season.
We don’t just need the best players, but the best fit.
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In the season at Benfica before we signed him he was apparently outstripping his xG to a freakish amount. Literally everything he was hitting was going in.
The question should be was he really that good, or was it more likely he was going to revert to the mean at some point.
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A real Man Utd signing in other words. Over rated, over pricey and overly brittle, mentally.
I was with Jurgen. He was unbelievable for Benfica when they played us. I was posting flat out here that we should sign him and was buzzing when we did. Shows the importance of having a team of stats geeks to give the full picture!
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WeeJoe unmasked as Pep L shocker!
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Our change in shape this season should’ve been helpful for him (I don’t even know anymore, but we’ve played 4-3-3 and now 4-2-3-1), playing with a #10 or second striker, rather than having wide forwards.
Whether it’s Szoboszlai, Jones, Elliott or Jota on the day. Players with different qualities, but it should’ve taken some pressure off him (though not totally!) in terms of linking up, having a central player closer to him.
That hasn’t been the case, not enough improvement.
Whether a bigger difference would be if he played in a more “proper” 2 up top shape, like a 4-4-2 or a 3-5-2… it could help him, but I think it’s also deeper than just formations and shapes.
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I accept I’m in the minority here, but I don’t think the system is the issue. I think his reliance on his confidence is the issue.
He didn’t have as much of a problem last season, but for some reason this season his form has plummeted off a cliff. I know people aren’t fond of stats, but he was averaging 141.5 minutes per goal contribution in his first season in the league, and 107.6 minutes per goal contribution last season. In particular, 185.9 minutes per goal, which if he plays the vast majority of minutes, should come up to around 18 goals (presuming he keeps up that average), which isn’t too shabby.
It helps to remember that he’s not a bad player at all, but also that he looks bad with his misses because he created a lot. The worst part about his recent form is simply that he’s not creating nor shooting anymore.
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What is fascinating about that in particular is that he just isn’t shooting at all this season. I think the last I looked at this stat (Darwin NUNEZ: 2024/25 - #104 by redalways) on 05 December 2024, his shooting wasn’t any worse than previous seasons.
I really seemed to have pulled a @Nikola on this one.
I’m so sorry folks.
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Rule no. 1: never praise a Liverpool player, especially when he has a good game among many average ones.
To be honest, if a player needs defending so fiercely that we have to pull up some selected stats to describe what he does well, he probably isn’t a very good one. I used to do it with Lucas, though not even close to levels of certain posters on TIA boards. A good player does his talk on the pitch - Nunez doesn’t and never will for Liverpool.
I’m pretty bummed that transfer to our club has seemingly destroyed his once promising career at the top level, while the team has been burdened with an 80 million quid albatross around their neck that they will do well to get rid of for half of that amount. And that comes at the time when the team is fighting on four fronts, has some injury and form issues and needs every player to pull their weight.
I wasn’t even praising him…
I was merely pointing out that his poor finishing is merely average finishing, and that despite that he still made tons of contributions. Wasn’t selected stats to describe what he does well, more like debunking the mythical “eye test”.
Our statistical model had him off the charts and that is more than sophisticated enough to not be fooled by a stat as simplistic as G-xG, especially over a period as short as a season. Or the even less charitable idea that we only bought him because of how impressed we were in the two CL games against him. He was bought with an acknowledgement the team would have to evolve to make good use of him. That was a work in progress under Klopp and Nunez’s role in it was left an open question. We have now pivoted from that tactical transition to Arneball and the question is increasingly looking like being closed in the negative, but that doesnt mean we used bad practices or ignored what made us good in the first place in pulling the trigger on him.
I think it’s the increased focus on patience in the build up. The ball isnt going forward and in behind at those early opportunities that he’s instinctively looking for it. That puts him on his heels and he is unable to recognize later in the sequence those opportunities we’ve more patiently opened up. It means he’s not just scoring less, but getting involved overall less, doing more standing around trying to figure out how to involve himself in what is happening. I think it is notable that when we think about his meaningful contributions this season, all that I can think of came in a bang-bang liverpool of old play like the Salah equalizer against Arsenal.
He is playing himself into an exit with his performances this season, but there were always going to be players that happened to with this change in manager and a change in emphasis of what he wanted.
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They are not.
They are willing to loan him and suggest paying 40m in the summer.
That second part has never happened with an Italian club.