Liverpool expert David Lynch tells Sports Mole that Darwin Nunez can consistently challenge Diogo Jota for the number nine spot under Arne Slot.
Liverpool expert David Lynch can envisage a captivating battle brewing between Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota for the right to lead the Reds’ line when the latter returns from an abdominal injury.
Jota started the campaign as Arne Slot‘s first-choice centre-forward, but Nunez has made his mark in the starting lineup since the former picked up an issue in the 2-1 win over Chelsea on October 20.
The Uruguay international nipped in to score the only goal in a 1-0 win over RB Leipzig in the Champions League, before teeing up Mohamed Salah to bag the leveller in last weekend’s 2-2 draw with Premier League title rivals Arsenal.
Speaking to Sports Mole, Lynch recalled the “nadir” of Nunez’s Liverpool career in October’s Champions League beating of Bologna – where he was hooked in the 61st minute – but he believes that the South American’s significant improvements in possession have made him a ‘genuine option’ in that number nine position.
“I thought he was playing really well even before the assist. Every time the ball went near him he was battling for everything, he was pressing really hard and then he’s taking care of the possession whenever he got it,” Lynch said.
‘Slot could not be asking for more from Nunez’
“I think back to earlier in the season, the game against Bologna – for me that was almost the nadir of Nunez’s Liverpool career. He was so poor in that game, and that is after two seasons of inconsistency.
“A new manager comes in, he starts the season outside of the starting 11, and then he gets a rare chance against Bologna, and then in that game he was just so poor. I wrote after that [game] that you started to worry that this is never really going to work out for him, even with a new manager coming in and a fresh opportunity there.
“One of the things that made him so poor against Bologna was the fact that he only completed four out of 12 passes; it’s just remarkably poor, particularly at Anfield in a game – it was a fairly even game actually – but where Liverpool are a little bit more on top than the opposition. To complete four out of 12 passes was so poor.
“And yet he’s come in to the side against Chelsea and Leipzig and now Arsenal, and the major improvement has been taking care of the ball. I think his pass completion rate is above 70% for all three of those games, so a marked improvement from what we saw against Bologna, and a little bit more composure in key moments as well.
“The fact he’s doing that, he’s keeping the ball, he’s giving Liverpool a bit of an outlet there, and his pressing is fantastic, so those two areas will get him in the team, but then also being in the right place at the right time against Leipzig to get the goal, showing the composure to get the assist that’s crucial away at Arsenal.
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“Slot couldn’t be asking much more from him across these three games, really. He’s keeping the ball and he’s pressing, he’s doing the defensive work and then he’s getting goal contributions. I’ve criticised him many times over the past couple of seasons, but if he keeps up this level of performance he becomes a genuine option for Arne Slot. Not just one he turns to when Diogo Jota’s injured – a genuine rotation option in that centre-forward position.
“Now we’ve had many, many false dawns with Nunez so I don’t want to get too excited about that, but you do hope and wonder whether the impact that Slot’s coaching is having on him, whether this system, he’s getting a bit more used to it now, and the hope is that he can kick on now and keep these performances coming. They’ve been hugely encouraging, what we’ve seen over the last three games, and I thought the assist just capped that off.”
Nunez’s Liverpool career has been plague by inconsistency ever since his big-money arrival from Bologna in the summer of 2022, joining the Merseyside giants in a deal that could eventually see him become the club’s most expensive player of all time.
Jota and Nunez have scrapped for the centre-forward’s slot since the exit of Roberto Firmino in 2023, and the two are often parallel opposites when it comes to putting chances away, as Jota’s 24.4% shot conversion rate last season was the eighth-best of all Premier League strikers.
A report from The Athletic from April last season also shows that at one point, Jota’s big chance conversion rate was the highest of all Liverpool attackers at 62.5%, while Nunez sat in last place with just 19.5%.
‘Jota has a battle on his hands to win starting place back’
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Nunez had to wait until Premier League gameweek five for his first top-flight start of the season, making three substitute appearances before that, but he justified that selection with a stunning goal in a 3-0 beating of Bournemouth.
Slot has already confirmed that Jota will not be back until after the international break, meaning that Nunez is set to lead the line in imminent clashes with Brighton & Hove Albion, Bayer Leverkusen and Aston Villa, and Lynch does not believe that the Portuguese will waltz back into the first XI.
“I think Nunez knows that before Jota gets fit – and we’re not sure exactly when that’s going to be although the hope is it’s not too long of an absence because it’s only bruising rather than a break according to the manager, so hopefully not too long to wait – but every game he gets to start whilst Jota is out is an opportunity to show why he should keep the shirt even when Jota’s back,” Lynch added.
“In the last three games he’s really shown that, and you just want for him to get that consistency because that has been his biggest issue at Liverpool. If he continues to do that, he thrives over the next couple of games, Jota then comes back with a little bit of a battle on his hands to get the shirt back, which is exactly what the manager wants.”
Nunez’s overall total for Liverpool now stands at 35 goals and 19 assists from 107 matches across all tournaments, and the Reds sit one point behind Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table ahead of Saturday’s visit of Brighton.