Andy Robertson admitted that he couldn’t help but feel frustrated about the fixation on transfer fees when discussing Darwin Nunez’s start to the season.
Having signed for £64m – a figure that could rise to a club record £84m once add-ons are taken into account – there’s been a heavy weight of expectation on the shoulders of the former Benfica man.
“For me, when you look at the stats and what Darwin has done, I think he’s been pretty successful,” the Scotland international told the Liverpool Echo.
“I get why people fixate on transfer fees and stuff like that but for us, as players, it’s frustrating because we don’t pick the fees. I don’t sit here and say I am an X-million pound player or whatever, it’s just what price the club is willing to pay for you.
“So for us, as players, we forget about money. That’s up to clubs, up to agents to sort and we can’t control that as players. And obviously when you have a big price-tag on your head, with the way football works, there’s expectations and things like that but I think he has scored goals and he’s looked the part.”
With 11 goal contributions in 18 appearances (across all competitions) this term, however, the Uruguayan has far from disappointed in the famous red shirt, particularly toward the latter end of the first-half of 2022/23.
Some will no doubt point to Uruguay’s disappointing World Cup campaign as a sign that the 23-year-old has regressed once again, though, if his cameo against AC Milan is any indication, such a position is simply far from the truth.
There’s no question that Nunez has had something of a rocky start to life in Merseyside, though there’s plenty of evidence available to suggest that his Anfield career will turn out to be a roaring success.
The return of full competitive action can’t come sooner in our eyes and we’re excited to see what the forward can accomplish whilst his confidence is sky-high.