Former Liverpool midfielder Didi Hamann has hailed Darwin Nunez as the "perfect forward" for Jurgen Klopp, but he has urged the Uruguayan attacker to find a clinical edge in front of goal.
Nunez arrived at Anfield in 2022 on the back of netting a staggering 34 goals in 41 games for Benfica during the 2021-22 campaign, including 26 in just 28 Primeira Liga matches to finish atop the scoring charts.
Liverpool agreed to pay up to £85m for Nunez's services, making the South American the Reds' most expensive signing ever if all performance-related add-ons are hit, but consistency in the final third has been hard to come by for the ex-Penarol man.
From 28 matches in the 2023-24 campaign, Nunez boasts a respectable tally of eight goals and eight assists, but after netting against Nottingham Forest in October, he endured an eight-game streak without a Premier League goal before finding the mark against Burnley on Boxing Day.
Nunez returned to his profligate ways against Newcastle United on New Year's Day, where he failed to breach Martin Dubravka's net despite having eight attempts on goal and accumulating an Expected Goals (xG) total of 1.61, the most for a single player in a Premier League game this season without finding the back of the net.
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Despite his well-documented lack of ruthlessness, Nunez has effectively linked up with Mohamed Salah on several occasions, setting up the Egyptian for the fifth time in the 2023-24 top-flight season in the 4-2 win over the Magpies on Monday.
Speaking exclusively to Sports Mole with King Casino Bonus, Hamann - a Champions League winner with Liverpool in 2005 - stressed the need for Nunez to improve his finishing, but he has backed the 24-year-old to find his shooting boots while Salah is away at the Africa Cup of Nations.
"Hopefully he finds his scoring boots now in Salah's absence. He creates a lot, it's just a shame he doesn't convert more. As a forward you've got to score goals, but the reason people keep patience with him is he creates so many chances," Hamann said.
"He sets up so many chances for himself, it's well-documented that when he does play Liverpool create more chances. Having said that, he has to start converting. When you look at his overall record it's not bad, but when he plays he has to score.
"I played with [Robbie] Fowler, with Michael Owen, [Emile] Heskey. These guys, if they played they scored. And then you had [Luis] Suarez, [Fernando] Torres, you always knew that if they don't score they will score in the next game.
"That's not the case with Nunez. He had his settling in period, he knows the game. Maybe in Salah's absence, he feels that he has a little more responsibility and things click, fingers crossed."
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While Nunez has often been deployed at the tip of the Liverpool attack, his explosive power has sometimes been utilised in the left-wing position, and he has provided assists against Sheffield United and West Ham United from a wide role this term.
Hamann still feels that Nunez is best-suited to the central striking role, but the 50-year-old believes that his versatility and willingness to operate anywhere across the front line makes him the "perfect forward" for Klopp.
"Usually for a player for his stature I would say through the middle, but he's so quick, when he plays out wide he's got a bit more space. He starts a bit deeper to pick the ball up and maybe play a one-two so he's got a bit more space to run into," Hamann added.
"He's a versatile player, hardly any centre-forwards want to play out wide but I don't think he minds. It shows what a great team player he is, when he is in full flow he's almost impossible to stop.
"He's probably the perfect forward player for Klopp, he does a job everywhere, the only thing he needs to do is score one or two more goals."
Nunez is expected to start for the Reds when they begin their quest for FA Cup glory in Sunday's blockbuster third-round tie with Arsenal at the Emirates, but he is yet to be on the winning side against the Gunners, drawing three and losing two contests with Mikel Arteta's men across his spells with Benfica and Liverpool.
Ben Knapton
