John Barnes makes Alan Shearer and Erling Haaland claim about Liverpool's key forward

Former Liverpool star John Barnes believes that Darwin Nunez is missing that true goal scorers touch, but claims he is gifted in other areas.

Nunez, 24, has shown great improvements this season after what was a disappointing first season in England after his big-money move from Benfica in the summer of 2022. 13 goal contributions in 19 games shows he is just six away from matching last season's total of 19.

Jurgen Klopp has grown to trust the forward more this season with his performances for his country also proving he is a different beast in his second year in England so far. But, despite that, Barnes believes there are still some doubts about his overall game.

Speaking to bonuscodebets.co.uk, Barnes made an unusual claim about the Uruguayan as he compared them to some of the Premier League's best ever finishers. “Darwin Nunez works hard for the team and never shies away from the ball." He began.

“He shows for the hall, he gets on the ball, helps his team mates. If Darwin Nunez was as good a finisher as Erling Haaland, Robbie Fowler or Alan Shearer he would be the best player in the world.”

"The physical qualities Nunez has are things those players didn’t have. You can’t have it both ways. If he was a fantastic finisher he wouldn’t have come to Liverpool for £60m.”

Those three forwards mentioned have all proven to be ruthless finishers, a trait that Nunez is still looking to emulate after last season saw him develop a reputation as a wasteful finisher. Given the improvements he has seemingly made this season he can look to add that clinical edge to his game which, as Barnes said, would make him into a deadly attacking presence.

He has started the last four games in the league and seems to wrestled the number one spot away from Cody Gakpo and he will be hoping to feast on a trio of fixtures that include Fulham, Sheffield United and Crystal Palace which should give him plenty of opportunities to add to his season tally.