Very unfairly, Darwin Nunez has attracted masses of headlines for his first hour of pre-season football as a Liverpool player and one ex-Red has now had his say.
Speaking on ESPN FC, Luis Garcia shared his thoughts on our new No.27’s first two appearances: ‘What I have realised is that he is going to have to work harder.
‘Liverpool play in a different way to Benfica. He is a player who is very clever; his football intelligence is fantastic. But he has to track back, he has to press.
‘In the two games against Manchester United and Crystal Palace he has struggled.
‘He wants to show that he is going to be ready to play, with the press, with that high pressure that Klopp does with Liverpool.
‘But after three or four runs he was tired. He had a few chances, but I think it was because he was tired.
‘He only had three [training] sessions, then into the game with Manchester United. He had ten sessions then faced Crystal Palace, but only played 30 minutes.
‘I think his movements, the way that he plays will give [Liverpool] a lot. But they need to wait. He needs to be physically ready.’
In days gone by, these two first glimpses of our new forward wouldn’t have even been televised but in the modern world the Uruguayan has been lambasted.
There’s no doubt that the 23-year-old would not have been purchased without the usual high level of research and the club will have no doubt that he is the right man for our club.
Now it’s up to the former Benfica man to prove everyone wrong and hit the ground running in a red shirt next season.
You can watch Garcia’s thoughts on Nunez via ESPN FC on YouTube: