‘Nunez 2.0’ - Pre-season form of £85m Liverpool ace has fans excited

Darwin Núñez has now scored in successive pre-season games after netting a brace during Liverpool’s action-packed four-all draw with Bundesliga side Greuther Furth in Germany.

Núñez scored a nine-minute double after coming on at half-time and he also managed to assist Mohamed Salah late on to round-off a strong performance. Luis Diaz had got the Reds underway in the 22nd minute with a fine solo goal, but there will be some concern from Jurgen Klopp after conceding six times in two games so far.

However, there’s no doubting the Uruguayan’s form so far will be a huge bonus for the Liverpool manager and he is fully embracing his new number nine jersey in the best possible way - scoring goals.

After signing for a club-record fee of £85m last summer, expectations were high - and rightly so. The 24-year-old was by no means a flop, but he certainly left a lot to be desired.

The weight of a price tag such as that is enough to derail a move; just look at the top 10 most expensive signings in Premier League history and how little successes there are in that list - big money doesn’t always guarantee big success.

Across his 15 goals and four assists in 42 games in all competitions, we saw plenty of power, pace and potential, but we also saw a lot of missed opportunities. He finished joint-third with Salah for big chances missed in the league last season with 20. However, the more alarming part was the fact that January signing Cody Gakpo seemingly became a more consistent and reliable figure in that central striker role.

Yes, Núñez is certainly erratic and inconsistent but there were moments of real quality last year to suggest there is something worth persevering with. His deft back-heeled goal against Real Madrid is a prime example of this, as was his fine strike against Newcastle or his weaker-foot volley against Southampton - you get the point.

In terms of rectifying last season, Núñez has started pre-season strongly; across 90 minutes of action so far, he has 3 goals and 1 assist and he also has a 100% shot on target rate across five shots. We’ve seen left-footed assists, finishes and deft footwork and all points towards a more settled player.

Remember, his first season at Benfica saw just six league goals and 14 in all competitions. After an adaptive first season, he then went onto explode into life with 34 goals, including 26 in the league. Fans are holding onto this idea and, as it stands, Liverpool’s new number nine is on track.