Jurgen Klopp has admitted he remains excited about Darwin Nunez as the forward begins to show what he’s made of in a Liverpool shirt.
The 23-year-old was one of the standout performers for the Reds as they defeated Ajax 3-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday night with the former Benfica man netting his fourth goal in four starts during our trip to Amsterdam.
The Uruguay international endured a difficult start to life on Merseyside but with him now appearing to be finding his feet at his new club, the former Borussia Dortmund boss believes the No. 27 has had a ‘great month’ for the club.
“For all of these things, his numbers are incredible, to be absolutely honest,” the German tactician said (as quoted by This Is Anfield). “And I’m pretty sure his xG is pretty high as well, he had a few chances that he missed, but he’s scored as well, and he’s involved in a lot of finishing moments, a lot of things.
“The steps he’s making are really big, and that means that he settles in more and more. A great month for him.”
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Nunez has seven goal contributions in 13 appearances for the FA Cup champions and has really silenced his doubters in recent weeks.
He may have missed an absolute sitter during the first half of our clash with Ajax but he worked hard and ensured he got his name on the scoresheet during the second 45.
Klopp has explained that the £64m man has ‘incredible’ potential and he’s looking forward to helping the former Almeria man develop.
“Nobody knows, he doesn’t know,” the German added when asked about the levels Nunez could reach.
“It’s so exciting, but he has to stay fit, he has to be available all the time, and he wasn’t against Nottingham Forest. That’s all important in the life of a professional football player. So we have to work on all the different areas.
“The potential is incredible. It’s not only speed, the attitude is really good, he’s a real worker, and again I tell you, I know there’s some people who think “technically, not sure, first touch,” it’s incredible.
“That he doesn’t bring it on the pitch at the moment all the time, his first touch might be here or there sometimes, it’s nothing to do with technique. It’s just a bit too late, awareness, orientation and all these kind of things, but that’s all possible to develop and to learn obviously, and that’s where we’re at.
“It’s really exciting, but where it can go I have no idea.”
The forward will be eager to find the back of the net once again when we host Leeds at Anfield on Saturday.
Nunez missed our dismal defeat to Nottingham Forest with a muscle injury last weekend but he’ll be hoping to get us back to winning ways in the Premier League against Jesse Marsch’s side.