Who is Darwin Nunez and what can he bring to Liverpool?
- Graeme Bailey
- 14 June 2022
Darwin Nunez has now been confirmed as a Liverpool player following a £64million deal. Graeme Bailey looks at the latest high-profile Premier League import.
The dynamic striker was born in Artigas in northern Uruguay.
He played for local teams La Luz and San Miguel de Artigas before joining Uruguayan giants Penarol when he was 14.
Who does he play for?
He joins Liverpool from Benfica, who he joined in 2020 having previously moved to Europe with Almeria.
What type of player is he?
His hero is Edinson Cavani and, not surprisingly, he is very similar in the way he plays.
He moves beautifully with the ball but the way he leads the line is his strong point. He can play anywhere across the front line and is full of running and excellent at closing down too. But at the end of the day when you throw the ball into the box he is likely to finish it.
What has he said?
Nunez grew up in a poor neighbourhood and has revealed how his family helped him make it as a professional.
"My brother was already training with the first team, but he had to leave because of family problems. I was also going to return home but he told me to stay because I had a future in football."
Upon leaving Uruguay for Almeria he was able to buy his parents a house, which is still one of the biggest moments of his life.
"I would go to bed on an empty stomach, but my mother went to bed more often without eating so that we would be fed and I don't forget that."
What have they said?
It is no surprise that his fellow countrymen love Nunez. Diego Forlan, for one, thinks he is the real deal.
"I think that he is a very good player, a good kid who is doing really well," said Forlan.
"He is a player who has a lot of potential but obviously, everyone needs to have patience, although he is getting better with more and more experience."
Luis Suarez even suggested that he recommended his countryman
"I recommended Darwin to Barcelona when he was at Almeria.
"I have 15 years of international experience. I know a thing or two about forwards. And I told them, 'Pay attention to this one, he's very good, he shows interesting things'."
Mane's replacement?
Sadio Mane confirmed his desire to leave Liverpool with a move to Bayern Munich on the cards. That meant the Reds had to line up a replacement and that quickly emerged as Nunez, someone Jurgen Klopp is a confirmed fan of.
"He's a good striker," said Klopp. "The next one from Uruguay, I don't know how they play together - Cavani, Suarez, and him. In one team, that's probably a challenge as well to put that in place. But, he's a top, top boy."
Klopp reportedly "fell in love" with Nunez after he scored in both legs against Liverpool in the Champions League quarter-finals.
With Luis Diaz and Fabio Carvalho also joining Nunez in Liverpool's revamped front line, the Reds could field a new-look attack next season.
