Liverpool flop sold for £12m is now outscoring Nunez in PL

Did Liverpool look nervy in opposition to Wolverhampton Wanderers final weekend, or have been Arne Slot‘s facet merely enduring a disjointed efficiency?

Let’s not overlook that Liverpool nonetheless obtained the job performed, beat the Previous Gold to leap again right into a seven-point lead on the prime of the Premier League.

It was a match that known as for help from the bench, with Wataru Endo being named the Man of the Match and Conor Bradley including vitality instead of Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back.

Nonetheless, Darwin Nunez had no such luck at quantity 9.

Darwin Nunez’s performances

Nunez, 25, has been one in every of Liverpool’s most outstanding figures over the previous a number of years however he was linked with a switch to the Saudi Professional League in January after little signal of progress since arriving from Benfica.

The Uruguay worldwide is tenacious and multi-faceted, however he is additionally wasteful and uncommanding as a focal frontman, solely scoring six goals across 34 matches for Slot this season.

In opposition to Wolves, Nunez did not take a shot, make a key move and even try a dribble throughout his 26 minutes of motion plus stoppage time, as per Sofascore. Furthermore, he misplaced each of his floor duels and accomplished solely half of his eight tried passes.

See the desk beneath. The South American is operating out of corners to show.

The difficulty is that he hasn’t improved, with the ossification of his ability set main many rivals to have a look at the reported £85m price tag with derision.

4 objectives merely is not ok for Liverpool’s club-record ahead, not least as a result of he is being outscored within the Premier League by a former Reds prospect in Harry Wilson.

How Harry Wilson’s doing for Fulham

Fulham signed Wilson for a £12m fee in July 2021, a product of Liverpool’s academy however discovered his alternatives restricted underneath Jurgen Klopp, solely making two senior appearances.

Now 27, he is been a mainstay within the Cottagers’ first workforce over the previous a number of seasons, enjoying vital roles each within the Premier League and the second tier and even being described as “the footballer’s footballer” by Wales boss Craig Bellamy, who was praising his work-rate and mindset, permitting friends to feed into his strategy.

A technically gifted participant, the left-footer arcs in from the proper flank and utilises his shifty actions and natural-born intuition in entrance of aim to impress.

He’s scored five times within the prime flight this time period having solely began eight instances, so he is clearly doing one thing proper.

The truth is, he ranks among the many prime 4% of attacking midfielders and wingers within the Premier League this time period for non-penalty objectives scored per 90, as per FBref, suggesting that he might certainly make an impression within the present Liverpool squad, making use of aid for Mohamed Salah.

With Nunez solely bagging 4 Premier League strikes this time period after such profligacy over the earlier two years, it solely serves to spotlight the fumble that led Klopp to pursue the striker.

One factor’s for positive, he is extra scientific in entrance of aim than Nunez proper now, regardless of his lowly market worth of £14m, as per Transfermarkt.

Sadly, the Wales worldwide fractured his foot at the end of January and may very well be out of motion till mid-April, however whether or not Nunez, who has scored in solely one in every of his previous 12 top-flight matches, will have the ability to catch him is one other query.

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Liverpool scraped previous Wolves to revive their seven-point lead on the prime of the Premier League.