Uruguayan international Darwin Nunez joined from Benfica in the summer after the departure of Sadio Mane and was expected to be a new scoring threat.
In Portugal, he scored goals in the domestic league and the Champions League, and was expected to be highly decisive in the Premier League as well.
However, two years after joining the club, his decision-making rate has not improved.He is often one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but his final touch is off and he either shoots at the keeper or goes wide of the goalmouth.
In the second half of the season, the Uruguayan striker started more and more from the bench and was clearly unhappy with his performances, leading to rumours of a move to Barcelona or Chelsea.
But, former Liverpool midfielder Steve McManaman remains at Anfield and is hopeful that his goal-footing and English will improve.
“I see him staying and working hard on his game and getting better,”
“He still can’t speak English and he needs to learn English very quickly and brush up on it.”
“He’s still only a young boy and a shy boy and I think people have to take that into consideration. Yes of course, he has to brush up on his finishing, he has to work hard, get on the training ground and score scruffy goals.”
“Whether he has to speak to [Luis] Suarez, whether he has to speak to somebody else, but he has to improve in front of goal.”
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He is one of the fastest players in the world at breaking behind the defensive line and getting close to goal, but he does not have a delicate touch of the ball and does not often pass the ball to make the most of wingers and midfielders.
Nevertheless, he has improved his play as a centre-forward since his first year with the club and, being only 24 years old, is expected to develop further.
He also has a passionate style of play that gets the stadium going and his ferocious pressing from the front is still going strong. He is likely to play for Liverpool again next season, but as this will be his third year, it is time for serious results and contribution.
Can the Artigas forward turn into a match-winning finisher?