Before West Ham – Liverpool: Should we be worried about the level of Darwin Núñez, the Reds’ flagship rookie this summer?

Legend has it that Mo Salah is still waiting with his arm raised for the ball to reach his feet. Sunday, against City (1-0), the Egyptian hoped before despairing: no, Darwin Núñez could not manage a 3 against 1 in a match at Champions League level, his strike, doomed to failure in advance, being countered by the Mancunian defense. The obvious pass was visible to all but the Uruguayan apparently…

“If he saw it, he has to pass to him, so it’s not good. If he hasn’t seen it, that’s not good either since it means he hasn’t looked up. In any case, he should have made this pass to him“, Gary Neville judged harshly on Sunday. The sequence made social networks happy and the Darwin Núñez case was debated. ultimately misfires quickly returned to center stage.

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“In general, people find it difficult to form an opinion about him.nuance Tom Adams, journalist for Eurosport in England. He’s not a graceful player, he’s a bit of a weird and clumsy goalscorer, with sometimes indecisive technique. If people take it as a finished product, it’s bound to look like a casting mistake.“It’s all in the ‘if.'”He’s almost too enthusiastic and raw when he playsNeville added. He just needs to learn to calm down and be more composed in the final third“.

He is not Haaland… and so much the better

With a transfer of 100 million euros (75 + 25) and the responsibility of replacing Sadio Mané, just that, more symbolically than sportingly, eyes are on him. Immediately and without much hindsight. It’s a bit quick to forget that Darwin Núñez was never seen as a player capable of changing Liverpool in size instantly. As always with the Reds, the weather will determine whether the Uruguayan is a flop or a new name to add to their list of brilliant signings from past seasons.

So why is England not patient? Because its price had raised many eyebrows this summer and because the comparison with Erling Haaland inevitably hurts. Cheaper but terribly – literally – more effective (20 goals against 4), the Norwegian still accentuates the critical eye around Núñez. Except that the two have nothing to do and that’s good.

Darwin Nunez celebrating his goal against Rangers

Credit: Getty Images

One has come to complete City’s puzzle with his gift for goal. The other arrived to take up the torch of heavy-metal football from Klopp, with an intensity of which Haaland would be incapable. If the ex of Benfica has often been compared with Edinson Cavani, it is because his love of the collective and his ability to exert himself on the ground is precisely what Liverpool were looking for. The game projects differ, the recruitments too, as a result.

The other analytical bias is due to the small sample available to judge the man. His exclusion against Crystal Palace and the return to grace of Roberto Firmino undoubtedly deprived him of a more brilliant start (11 matches played). There remains this impression, tenacious for the moment, that it is closer to a rough pebble than a polished diamond.

The habit of Liverpool

“Defending against him would not have been easylaughed Jamie Carragher when looking at the Reds’ flagship rookie and his vision as a defender. Liverpool just need to find the connection with him. But his size, his speed, his power… He has a very important goalscoring history so I think you don’t want to face him too often“.

Connecting with others, Darwin should be able to find more easily now that the handyman, Thiago Alcantara, has returned. Decimated by injuries and mishaps, this dysfunctional Liverpool side were not the easiest to integrate either.

Then comes, finally, the question of adaptation. The cyborg Haaland should not make us forget that a transfer is never a trivial act in the life of a player, and a fortiori in the life of a man. Leo Messi’s depressing season in Paris last year was a fair enough reminder of that.

Always very open in interviews, the Uruguayan did not hang around when putting his finger on his difficulties during his first months. “Everyone knows it was a bit difficult. It was complicated to adapt to the team, to what the coach asked“, he explained after his goal against Rangers. “I don’t speak English and the coach doesn’t speak Spanishhe summarized at TNT Sport in early October. So the deputies Lijnders and Matos are my translators when Klopp speaks to the group. They sit next to me and tell me what to do. Without it, I’d walk into the field without a clue what to do.“.

In a press conference, Jürgen Klopp has never sought to sting his attacker or to motivate him beyond measure. Quite the opposite. Calm and patience, two virtues that are difficult to accept in 2022 when you are a big club which is experiencing a hectic start to the season. But the German has already experienced this and masters the method at his fingertips so as not to burn his recruits when the footballing or cultural gap is too great. Ibrahima Konaté, Fabinho or Firmino had waited long weeks before obtaining their starting stripe. Proof that with Darwin, the theory of evolution is essential. And it still needs some time…

Darwin Nunez with Liverpool

Credit: Getty Images

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