Topic: Darwin Núñez (Darwin Gabriel Núñez Ribeiro)

[Studgotelli]

Think he'd better off the left with an Isak through the middle. There's a lot to like about him but ultimately he misses easy chances too much.

Speaking of Isak we should sign him.

[smicer07]

Speaking of Isak we should sign him.

I've seen Isak miss a load of chances too, by the way.

[Fordy]

Don’t think he is ever going to be the required standard for our main goal scorer. Maybe bring another striker in and Darwin can develop into a Salah type winger/goal scorer.

Think Danns is a better finisher than him. He would have put most of the chances away that Núñez misses.

[Studgotelli]

I've seen Isak miss a load of chances too, by the way.

Every striker does but he’s quality and would add a more clinical edge to our attack let’s be real.

[smicer07]

Every striker does but he’s quality and would add a more clinical edge to our attack let’s be real.

If he did sign, he'd get the same stick Darwin's getting every time he missed.

[Nick110581]

He is the latest scapegoat.

Endo will be next.

[robertobaggio37]

Speaking of Isak we should sign him.

Bit weird we went with Nunez instead of Isak who looked like a Klopp striker and perfect Firmino replacement at the time. Having said that, if Nunez had a little more composure in him, we wouldn't be talking about Isak in his own thread.

[koptommy93]

He is the latest scapegoat.

Endo will be next.

He's given more leeway by the crowd than any player I've ever seen for us.

[Lastrador]

I've seen Isak miss a load of chances too, by the way.

Yeah, but Isak has a conversion rate of 34,09% while Darwin has one of 13,58%. So even if you have seen him miss loads, their respective conversion rate are worlds apart this season.

[smicer07]

Yeah, but Isak has a conversion rate of 34,09% while Darwin has one of 13,58%. So even if you have seen him miss loads, their respective conversion rate are worlds apart this season.

Yeah and if Isak joined us he'd probably have a lower conversation rate given the extra pressure.

[Jm55]

It’s just mad the way he polarises people, so many people seem incapable of a rational debate with him.

Log on to Twitter today and there’s several people saying he’s totally shite, then you’ve got the opposite where people are are acting as if 11 league goals 32 games into a season is perfectly normal because of his xG numbers.

The reality with all of it is somewhere in between the two. He makes a nuisance of himself again today, is close to being involved in some really big moments and gets a bit unlucky with the shot but you feel that if he hits it a bit higher then luck is taken out of the equation as it’s physically impossible for Henderson to save it.

Sort of him in a nutshell really.

[SerbianScouser]

@SimonBrundish



It's absolutely fucking insane how wasteful he is. This is probably a world record for big chance conversion on this level.

[Fromola]

It’s just mad the way he polarises people, so many people seem incapable of a rational debate with him.

Log on to Twitter today and there’s several people saying he’s totally shite, then you’ve got the opposite where people are are acting as if 11 league goals 32 games into a season is perfectly normal because of his xG numbers.

The reality with all of it is somewhere in between the two. He makes a nuisance of himself again today, is close to being involved in some really big moments and gets a bit unlucky with the shot but you feel that if he hits it a bit higher then luck is taken out of the equation as it’s physically impossible for Henderson to save it.

Sort of him in a nutshell really.

He'll ultimately be judged on goals. The exception in striker terms was Firmino but that was a mix of Mane and Salah scoring so frequently combined with his general play (and our ability to regularly keep clean sheets back then). Nunez is more credited with his general play when you've got Salah and Jota scoring every week. When everyone else is fluffing their lines that's when your striker has to step up, at least in terms of his perceptiion.

[decosabute]

Darwin isn't a bad player. He can stick around for years and be a useful player for us to have in the squad. The problem is that I don't think he'll ever be a player we can rely on.

Earlier this week, Ken Early (who can be a bit of a clickbait bellend sometimes to be fair) was musing over whether Darwin might be the worst signing of the Klopp era. That is a bit of a mad shout in isolation, but I do think he might be one of the most disappointing signings, if you take the money and expectations into consideration.

Someone said earlier in the thread that he's getting scapegoated and Endo will be next. Well no, Endo won't be scapegoated, because he was a cut price 30 year old journeyman, who was brought in to be a short term squad player. He's played shit the last three games, but realistically, he's massively overperformed what we could've expected from him when he signed.

Darwin on the other hand was bought to be the future of our attack. And while he does contribute and hasn't had a terrible season overall by any stretch, I personally don't think he'll ever be smart enough or consistent or reliable enough to be the main man of our attack.

He'll always have the physical attributes to do damage in a lot of games, but I personally don't see him ever becoming a reliable, 25-30 goal a season man. And his lack of goals in big games is another issue.

I'm not saying sell him, but the question becomes, do we believe he'll ever hit the heights we want him to, and if not, do we still want to keep him around to be a deluxe squad attacker, or is it better to cash in and build differently?

[Fromola]

Darwin isn't a bad player. He can stick around for years and be a useful player for us to have in the squad. The problem is that I don't think he'll ever be a player we can rely on.

Earlier this week, Ken Early (who can be a bit of a clickbait bellend sometimes to be fair) was musing over whether Darwin might be the worst signing of the Klopp era. That is a bit of a mad shout in isolation, but I do think he might be one of the most disappointing signings, if you take the money and expectations into consideration.

Someone said earlier in the thread that he's getting scapegoated and Endo will be next. Well no, Endo won't be scapegoated, because he was a cut price 30 year old journeyman, who was brought in to be a short term squad player. He's played shit the last three games, but realistically, he's massively overperformed what we could've expected from him when he signed.

Darwin on the other hand was bought to be the future of our attack. And while he does contribute and hasn't had a terrible season overall by any stretch, I personally don't think he'll ever be smart enough or consistent or reliable enough to be the main man of our attack.

He'll always have the physical attributes to do damage in a lot of games, but I personally don't see him ever becoming a reliable, 25-30 goal a season man. And his lack of goals in big games is another issue.

I'm not saying sell him, but the question becomes, do we believe he'll ever hit the heights we want him to, and if not, do we still want to keep him around to be a deluxe squad attacker, or is it better to cash in and build differently?

When you factor in as well that he was our only big signing that summer, when we were desparete for midfield reinforcements and then we went out and signed Gakpo in the January after a poor start.

[Mister Flip Flop]

He is the latest scapegoat.

Endo will be next.

Pointing out a players flaws isnt scapegoating.

[DonkeyWan]

He'll ultimately be judged on goals. The exception in striker terms was Firmino but that was a mix of Mane and Salah scoring so frequently combined with his general play (and our ability to regularly keep clean sheets back then). Nunez is more credited with his general play when you've got Salah and Jota scoring every week. When everyone else is fluffing their lines that's when your striker has to step up, at least in terms of his perceptiion.

Too much focus is on Nunez though. Today was a midfield misfunction. You can blame misses, but lots of players beside Nunez missed today. But the midfield was over-run and completely exposed the backline. I have no problems criticising Nunez, but he was only one cog in today's clusterfuck.

[andy07]

Have we not got Rushy on the training ground showing him what to do?

[Bennett]

Still think you bring him on off the bench he'd be the new Origi.

£75m, ladies and gentlemen.

[KevLFC]

That chance today is what we seen so many times, good hit but its too close to the keeper, any angle on it the keeper isn't saving it. Surley he can be coached as the potential is there its just a matter of technique. It's the same on Thursday. The keeper went down so early he could easily had curled it over into the corner but decided to go the hardest route which wass Trying to hit in the near post. In the end it was a horrible shot.

[RyanBabel19]

Dont even think todays was a bad miss, keeper made a good save from a snapshot

Seems bigger because of the desperation littered through the side at the moment

[MonsLibpool]

Football on TNT Sports
@footballontnt
Darwin Nunez has the worst big-chance conversion rate across Europe's top five leagues: 20% 🎯

Should be moved to the wing and we should sign another striker. This is just not good enough when going for the biggest prizes.

[decosabute]

Too much focus is on Nunez though. Today was a midfield misfunction. You can blame misses, but lots of players beside Nunez missed today. But the midfield was over-run and completely exposed the backline. I have no problems criticising Nunez, but he was only one cog in today's clusterfuck.

Today was indeed a collective clusterfuck. But we've just seen it too many times with Nunez. Missed huge chances a week ago vs United, missed a massive chance early on vs Atalanta, missed chances today.

And while there's nothing wrong with being good against the shit, Darwin really isn't doing enough against the good teams. The last time I remember him scoring against a decent side was Newcastle away at the start of the season. And that was a mad, out-of-nothing cameo in a mad, out-of-nothing win.

He's not a bad player, but you can't build an attack around a player who's that erratic and unreliable. And while his numbers are a little better overall this season, I don't see much evidence that he'll grow into being a guy we can build around. He has the physicality and it's not like he doesn't try, but I honestly don't think he has the brains or mentality to become that man for us.

[elkun]

Football on TNT Sports
@footballontnt
Darwin Nunez has the worst big-chance conversion rate across Europe's top five leagues: 20% 🎯

Should be moved to the wing and we should sign another striker. This is just not good enough when going for the biggest prizes.

His general play is not that good either to play at the wing. He cant dribble and he hasnt got eye for a pass. Dont want him anywhere near our wings. Just like some posted earlier here. He is Haaland but without the goals.

[RyanBabel19]

His general play is not that good either to play at the wing. He cant dribble and he hasnt got eye for a pass. Dont want him anywhere near our wings. Just like some posted earlier here. He is Haaland but without the goals.

How do people watch him and see this!

The guy has over THIRTY goals/assists but he has all these apprent deficiencies. He needs to be finishing more chances but to claim all this shit with him getting so many assists, some of them class, is mad to me

[MonsLibpool]

His general play is not that good either to play at the wing. He cant dribble and he hasnt got eye for a pass. Dont want him anywhere near our wings. Just like some posted earlier here. He is Haaland but without the goals.

His general play is very good IMO. Can beat a man, can play a pass, etc

[RyanBabel19]

Sometimes he just needs to weigh up situations better, i’ve seen a few times he’s got his marker out wide and it’s like he doesn’t trust himself to burn him for pace when he 100% could. Same with Andersen today, he let him play the rough, bully game with him today when he should have been playing a little lay off and spinning in behind knowing Andersen had no hope of keeping up once he ran off him

Small tweaks to Nunez game will make him even more effective and he has a ridiculously high potential to be even more decisive which is mad… as he already affects games so much

[elkun]

How do people watch him and see this!

The guy has over THIRTY goals/assists but he has all these apprent deficiencies. He needs to be finishing more chances but to claim all this shit with him getting so many assists, some of them class, is mad to me

define assists? Am judging him by the amount of money we paid for him and the expectations of it. People are talking about him being the next Origi. I dont want our big money signing to be the next origi.. hell if only he had half of origi’s finishing skills we would be top right now.

[Bastion Of Invincibility]

Curious that he tried to place a shot from the edge of the 18 yard box early on and then later on smashed a chance straight at the keeper from 5 yards out. It's as if he's reacting to his last miss rather than having a clear visual picture of what's needed for each finish.

I wonder if a sports psychologist could help him with some hypnosis and visualisation because his emotions take over completely when shooting at goal.

[Clint Eastwood]

I think you can accept his wastefulness when he's having a huge impact on the game. He may miss a chance or two, but he's still a menace, constantly on the move, stretching the back line, creating chances with his presence alone. But he's not been doing that for a while, probably due to fatigue. At the moment he's just wasting chances, and it's painful to watch.

I've seen some say that he gets everything right with that effort, but it's straight at where Henderson was always going to be. He had time to glance up, he could have hit it into the roof of the net.

For the record, Jones and Jota could also have done better with their efforts, but it's not every week that they're missing big chances.

[RyanBabel19]

define assists? Am judging him by the amount of money we paid for him and the expectations of it. People are talking about him being the next Origi. I dont want our big money signing to be the next origi.. hell if only he had half of origi’s finishing skills we would be top right now.

If I need to tell you what an assist is on a football forum we have a problem.

This, again…. Is a football forum. Why does it matter if after a run of poor results some other fans have mentioned Origi and Nunez in the same sentence?

Your summary of him is poor and completely dismissive of his ability AND contributions this season

[Mr Dilkington]

List of players in Europe's top 5 leagues with more open play goals and assists per90 than Núñez this season.

1. Harry Kane - not an option for obvious reasons
2. Deniz Undav - on loan at Stuttgart, didn't do much for Brighton and turning 28 this summer
3. Serhou Guirassy - massive breakout season at Stuttgart but 28 years old - likely not an option for us.
4. Kylian Mbappe - not an option for obvious reasons.
5. Victor Boniface - Good age, great numbers but only 1.3k minutes this season due to injury issues and would cost a fortune - just 7 goals in 31 games in Belgium last season.
6. Diogo Jota
7. Lois Openda - super numbers in France, super numbers in Germany. Probably the most obvious guy if you wanted another forward but would cost 80M+.
8. Raphinha - not a striker, probably a couple of years too old and on €250,000 a week at Barca.
9. Vinicius - not an option for obvious reasons.

Don't think it's a coincidence that 5 of the players on the list play in the Bundesliga. The Bundesliga tax idea is a bit of a meme at this point but it's also true. A few years back it was estimated to be 17% v the PL and in all honesty the league is overall in worse shape now than it was back then. But if we go with 17% then it knocks Openda below Darwin and the other 4 a fair bit closer to him.

This is all in the context of Darwin having a really bad/unlucky (call it what you will) finishing season.

A phenomenal player and one we should be building around over the next few years not looking to sell.

[decosabute]

His general play is very good IMO. Can beat a man, can play a pass, etc

Not sure how good his passing is, but generally I agree with you. I've always wondered whether Nunez might be better off the left than the central striker. He works hard, can beat a man either cutting in or going to the byline, and I honestly think he's just as likely to score from left wing as centre forward. I'd like to see Gakpo and Jota compete for CF (or, as you suggest, look at signing another CF) and Darwin and Diaz rotate off the left.

[Keith Lard]

Honestly, the stuff I’m reading on here. People really struggle to process defeat. Back in the day, our title winning teams list way more. They just didn’t have a cheating, finally doped nation state club to compete with.

Darwizzy is young and a super striker. Still has some developing to do but he’s still first pick for me.

He’s clearly a bit in his own head right now and over thinking it a bit. Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s reading negative media about himself and getting a bit affected. On his day he’s utterly unplayable.

[G Richards]

Football on TNT Sports
@footballontnt
Darwin Nunez has the worst big-chance conversion rate across Europe's top five leagues: 20% 🎯

Should be moved to the wing and we should sign another striker. This is just not good enough when going for the biggest prizes.

This might not be a bad shout. Nunez has pace to burn, and he has a vicious shot too.

A lot will depend on what Mo Salah does. If he leaves we might invest in a central striker who is adept at sticking the ball in the net.

I’m torn on Nunez. He is obviously a very threatening player, and he creates lots of chances and takes lots of shots. A lot of it is stuff he makes for himself, utlitizing his pace and power. And yet… We all just want to see an uptick in chance conversion, and if we get that, we won’t look back.

The new manager has a lot to think about.

Edit:
And then I see posts like the great post above, with goals and assists from open play in the top 5 leagues, and it fills me with hope again that Darwin Nunez is alright!

[DonkeyWan]

The problem for me in the Nunez discussion is that Liverpool lose and instantly everyone judges whether it is Nunez's fault or not. Did he play well today? No. But there are a host of other players who played even shitter that are getting ignored because Nunez cost X amount. 

[Coolie High]

His general play is not that good either to play at the wing. He cant dribble and he hasnt got eye for a pass. Dont want him anywhere near our wings. Just like some posted earlier here. He is Haaland but without the goals.

He’s a far better footballer than Haaland.

[JackWard33]

Great post Mr Dilkington

[MonsLibpool]

Not sure how good his passing is, but generally I agree with you. I've always wondered whether Nunez might be better off the left than the central striker. He works hard, can beat a man either cutting in or going to the byline, and I honestly think he's just as likely to score from left wing as centre forward. I'd like to see Gakpo and Jota compete for CF (or, as you suggest, look at signing another CF) and Darwin and Diaz rotate off the left.

I've been surprised by some of the passes he picks out at times. He's very good technically but he's a bit clumsy at times.

[collytum]

Imagine our sense of relief a couple of years ago when we missed out on the timo Werner signing, only to go and pay more for his South American equivalent years later.