A Liverpool star has been added alongside Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo by a former Juventus and Barcelona ace when building the ‘perfect’ player.
Liverpool striker Darwin Núñez is really starting to produce the kind of performances that won him his move to Anfield in the summer of 2022. Núñez had starred for Benfica in their games against Liverpool in the Reds’ run to the 2022 Champions League final.
The Uruguayan scored against Liverpool at Anfield and had several more disallowed in a tie Liverpool eventually won 6-4 on aggregate. Jürgen Klopp had seen enough and decided to sign the striker several months following the pair of games.
Núñez struggled in his first season in England, tending to fluctuate between brilliance and frustration. One superb game would be followed up by a string of disappointing performances, the goals dried up compared to his last season in Portugal, but the evidence was clearly there that he just needed time to settle and embed himself in the Liverpool system and playing in the Premier League.
That adjustment period is now over and Núñez has been outstanding for Liverpool all season, scoring 12 goals in all competitions so far. But it isn’t just about the numbers, Núñez’s overall performances have been very high and his contribution has produced 11 assists in all competitions.
Former Juventus and Barcelona defender Martín Cáceres believes Núñez is one of the fastest players around in the modern game. When asked by Goal.com on TikTok to build the perfect player, Cáceres picked the usual names like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but also named his Uruguayan compatriot in one particular category — his speed.
Núñez’s speed has been one of his biggest attributes, with the 24-year-old able to cover a significant amount of ground in such a short space of time. Aside from his attacking prowess, Núñez’s defensive work has been highlighted by Klopp this season, with the German saying in September: “The defensive work he puts in now, that’s probably the main difference. He always wanted, but it was less coordinated. Now that looks much better and we found a way how we can do it around him.”
Núñez missed the game against Southampton as he recovers from a muscle injury, but could be in contention to play against Nottingham Forest this weekend.
