Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez has been backed by one former Premier League player to ‘get better and better’ throughout his time at Anfield.
The 20-cap Uruguay international has scored seven goals in all competitions already this season (Transfermarkt) but really ought to have added to that tally in the 1-1 draw at Luton on Sunday, missing from four yards out when the deadlock had yet to be broken.
Despite that scarcely believable moment, Dean Ashton was still highly complimentary of the 24-year-old and believes he’ll improve even further on what he’s already shown for the Reds.
Speaking on talkSPORT’S Premier League All Access podcast, the former Norwich and West Ham marksman said of Nunez: “I wouldn’t say he’s unlucky no because some of the chances are excellent chances that you’d expect a top striker to take. I think it’s on him. I think he’s still developing. I think he still needs to improve that clinical-ness.
“But the amount and volume of opportunities he’s getting tells me he’s a super player in that sense and that can improve and will improve I think as the games and the seasons go on for Darwin Nunez. I think he will (get it right) and I think the volume of chances he’s getting show that.
“He’s got so many attributes you’d want in that position. I think his movement is decent. He still gets caught offside too many times for my liking. But even if you look at the very best, they miss a lot of chances. But they keep getting in there, and getting there. And I do think he’ll get better and better.”
Everything Ashton has said is quite fair – as shown against Luton (and indeed Toulouse last month), Nunez is still culpable of missing opportunities that he’d reasonably be expected to score, but the underlying statistics show that he deserves far better than to be simply labelled a walking meme by critics.
As per FBref, he’s landed more shots on target (13) than any other Liverpool player in the Premier League so far this season, despite starting just five times in the division in 2023/24. His shot-on-target percentage of 40.6% is the third-best in the squad overall and the best of anyone with more than five shots recorded.
Furthermore, he’s had far more shots on target per 90 minutes (2.29) than anyone else at Anfield, with Diogo Jota the next best on 1.26 per game.
He’s slightly underperforming on his xG tally of 4.8 in the league, having netted four times up to this point, but once he keeps getting into goalscoring positions and shows more finesse on a more consistent basis, the goals will surely flow rapidly.
Nunez can still be unpredictable in the final third, but his all-round play is giving opposition defences nightmares. As Ashton says, the best is probably yet to come from Liverpool’s explosive number 9.