John Barnes believes that Liverpool already have someone who could become the ‘best player in the world’ if they add one crucial string to their bow.
Darwin Nunez is entering his third season at Anfield, and while a tally of 33 goals in his first two years at the club is quite respectable, he’s consistently had to endure criticism of his end product considering some of the chances that he doesn’t convert.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, ‘Digger’ is convinced that a ruthlessness in front of goal is all that the 25-year-old is missing in order to be regarded as one of the leading players in world football.
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Barnes said of the Uruguayan: “He can fire us to the title without scoring 40 goals [per season]. You don’t have to compete with anybody else. What he can do, Erling Haaland can’t do. You look at the hard work he gives and he chases around. Erling Haaland doesn’t do that but he scores lots of goals.
“If [Nunez] did that as well as scoring 40 goals, he’d be the best player in the world. With what he has, as well as chipping in with the goals, as well as his attitude, work rate, commitment, he’s fine for Liverpool.
“We want perfection – we want him to do what Erling Haaland does, but we’d want Haaland to hold up the ball better than he does. In terms of what Nunez gives us, yes we’d like him to score more goals. If he could score more goals like Robbie Fowler and do what else he does, he’d be the best player in the world.”
Among the 33 goals that Nunez has scored for Liverpool are some truly show-stopping finishes, such as the clinical manner in which he dispatched the stoppage time winner at Newcastle last August, the volley that he crashed past West Ham a few weeks later, and the top-corner finish against Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup.
Allied with an indefatigable desire to show for the ball and shoot for goal, there’s clearly a lot to like about the Reds’ number 9.
However, while he’s still missing chances such as the close-range sitter away to Luton last term and underperforming on his xG, the 25-year-old will continue to face criticism – some of it justified and constructive, a lot of it completely over the top and fuelled by agendas.
Barnes makes a fair point in comparing how Nunez offers a lot more than Haaland out of possession, but for strikers at the highest level, there’s no currency with greater value than goals, and that’s where the Manchester City marksman delivers consistently.
After two seasons of highs and lows at Anfield, let’s hope 2024/25 is the season in which the Uruguay marksman truly comes of age at Liverpool and lives up to the enormous promise that a club legend in ‘Digger’ has made.
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