Neil Jones has voiced his concern over Darwin Nunez’s goal output at Liverpool, believing that the 24-year-old hasn’t scored ‘enough’ in his season-and-a-half at the club.
The Uruguayan is currently enduring a barren streak of 10 matches and counting, finding himself the target of criticism from numerous pundits.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing column, the journalist said that the Reds’ number 9 needs to improve his scoring return, but doesn’t believe that a positional shift would be the right way to go about it.
Jones stated: “Nunez certainly isn’t helping himself. His tendency to get caught offside in build-up play has been noticeable in recent weeks, and while there is no lack of endeavour, there appears to be a clear lack of confidence and conviction when the ball falls to him around the box. That was evident at Manchester City and Crystal Palace, and it was there against United as well.
“There have been some suggestions that, with [Luis] Diaz also struggling, [Jurgen] Klopp may move him to the left in a bid to stretch the game and try something different, but much of Liverpool’s work with Nunez has been about moulding him into a line-leading Premier League centre-forward, so it would represent a bit of a shift now.
“What is clear is that Klopp needs more. Thirteen Premier League goals in a season-and-a-half is not enough, especially given the skills Nunez has and the chances he gets.
“The focus in the coming weeks will be on getting his mind straight, restoring his confidence and getting that ball into the box with a lot more quality than in recent games.”
Interestingly, Nunez’s goal return for Liverpool is actually slightly better when he’s played on the left rather than through the middle.
As per Transfermarkt, he’s netted seven times in 18 appearances on the wing (0.39 goals per game), compared to 15 in 46 matches at centre-forward (0.32 goals per game), so that would somewhat justify Klopp pushing the 24-year-old out to the flank to try and break his current scoring duck.
A return of 13 goals in 45 Premier League games (Transfermarkt) isn’t terrible, but Reds fans would reasonably have expected more at this stage, especially considering some of the chances he’s passed up, as illustrated by him having the worst xG disparity of anyone at Anfield so far this season (FBref).
There’s been enough in Nunez’s performances on the whole at Liverpool to have faith that, once he ends his barren run, he could duly go on to enjoy a rich scoring streak. Once that next goal comes, the test will be to see if he can back it up with a few more in quick succession.
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