Jamie Carragher has claimed he would have found “a handful” of new Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez and believes the Uruguayan will cause “big trouble” for those he faces this season.
The 23-year-old was signed by SL Benfica for £64m earlier this summer and after scoring twice and assisting once in his first two competitive outings for the club, the striker has struggled to make an impact. since then.
He was sent off on his home debut for Liverpool for a header, but the former Red Carragher believes Nunez cannot stand trial until he gets more minutes for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
“I would have found him a handful,” Carragher told the Daily Mail. “I think anyone would.
“It’s just where Liverpool can have that connection with him, but the size, the pace, the power of him, he has a great goalscoring record, you don’t want to come up against him too often.
“It’s really been a start for him. Obviously the sending off was unfortunate and he came in at different times and trying to catch up with the rest of the team. But also getting used to the new team.
“It is completely different to what Liverpool had before in terms of Roberto Firmino. It is a completely different player profile.
“He looks raw, but there is no doubt that he has great physical attributes. He causes big problems for the opposition.
“Only in the next five or six weeks will we see that integration much more. Then it will be much easier to judge if he is a good fit, because now he has not played enough for the team.”
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Our No. 27 lit up the Portuguese top flight last season and even scored in both of Benfica’s Champions League clashes with Liverpool.
We struggled to keep him calm at Anfield during our quarter-final second leg and hope to see that kind of form from him in the coming months.
He scored 34 goals in 41 games for Benfica last season in what was a truly impressive campaign for the former Almería striker.
It’s a bit unfair to judge him on his appearances for the club so far: he’s played a total of just 259 competitive minutes for Liverpool with several of them coming off the bench.
Klopp’s squad as a whole haven’t really been firing this season, so waiting for a new signing to come in and hit the ground running is a big question.
He is adjusting to a new culture, a new language and a new style of play that he had grown accustomed to in Lisbon, so he must be given time until we can make a proper judgement.
Carragher is right to highlight the difference in style between Núñez and Bobby Firmino.
When the Uruguayan is on the pitch, it means Klopp can operate a full-fledged striker for the first time in years with Liverpool fans used to Firmino playing between the lines.
It may take time for Mo Salah and Luis Diaz to establish a relationship with Nunez on the pitch, but we’re certainly sure he’ll be working flat out soon.
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