Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has hinted Darwin Nunez will start on the bench in Saturday's Premier League opener with Fulham.
The Uruguay international arrived at Anfield earlier this summer for an initial £64m fee, which could rise to a club-record £85m with performance-related add-ons.
Nunez was the target of criticism after taking a while to get off the mark in pre-season, but he proceeded to hit four goals in one game during a 5-0 thumping of RB Leipzig.
The 23-year-old also came off the bench to score Liverpool's third goal in their 3-1 win over Manchester City in the Community Shield and will eye his Premier League debut at Craven Cottage on Saturday lunchtime.
Roberto Firmino was given the nod through the middle against Man City last weekend, but the 30-year-old only played 59 minutes at the King Power before being withdrawn.
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Speaking to reporters at his pre-game press conference, Klopp affirmed that Nunez was "ready" to face Fulham, but he stopped short of guaranteeing a start for the ex-Benfica man.
"Darwin is ready. Does that mean he has to start? I don't know. It's not about that. We obviously have still different options and that's what we'll use, and Darwin needs time to get used to a lot of things but he is already a real help," Klopp responded.
"It went really quick, to be honest, from the first game where I thought, 'What are we doing with him?' – not because of him but because of the passes we played for him.
"It was a proper pre-season training session for him, the first game, when we gave him a lot of runs to do. But now obviously it's completely settled."
Firmino has now entered the final year of his contract with the Reds and was reportedly the subject of interest from Juventus last month, but he has since confirmed that he wants to stay on with Liverpool.
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Klopp also praised Liverpool's native Spanish speakers for taking Nunez under their wing over the past few weeks, claiming that the striker feels "very at home" at Anfield already.
"He said it himself, he was very nervous in the beginning; from my point of view I sympathise with that a lot and it's normal, completely normal. You could see that but that settled pretty quickly because the team, all the players, not only the Spanish-speaking, took him under their wings.
"That was very helpful, so he feels very, very home after a short period. He had already an impact, he scored in the first final we could play, so that's fine. And the work will not stop here. He is in the best possible place."
Klopp also provided an update on Liverpool's lengthy injury list in Friday's press conference, with Diogo Jota, Caoimhin Kelleher and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain already confirmed to miss the opening day, while Curtis Jones and Kostas Tsimikas will also remain sidelined, and Naby Keita will need assessing after his bout of sickness.
The Reds boss also admitted that the knee injury Ibrahima Konate picked up against Strasbourg last weekend would "influence" the club's summer outgoings amid rumours of Bournemouth plotting a move for Nat Phillips.
Ben Knapton
