Copa America: Nunez's Uruguay form gives Liverpool boss Slot plenty to ponder

 

It could well be a make-or-break season for Darwin Nunez.  

 

The 25-year-old continues to divide opinion after an erratic two campaigns with Liverpool following his £64m move from Benfica.  

 

On one hand, a return of 20 league goals and 11 assists across 3,751 minutes isn’t bad at all. Especially when you consider that he’s been in and out of the team during this time while also playing various roles. He had a stint on the left-side of the attack, for example. He also played as part of a two-man forward line when Jurgen Klopp tried to balance things out during an injury crisis.  

 

Simply put, things haven’t been easy for the Uruguayan. And while he’s not always helped his cause with some big misses and unforgivable moments of sheer madness, he’s not exactly been given a stable platform since the move to Anfield.  

 

 

Liverpool knew what they were getting when he arrived from Portugal. He was raw, unrefined and inconsistent. He was a young forward who had all of the physical traits needed to be one of the best in the world. But he needed time, patience and understanding to develop into that elite No.9 people truly thought he could be.  

 

People will argue that he’s been given time and patience. The Anfield crowd still chant his name after every single big chance missed, for example. And Klopp always leapt to the defence of his player. But was the German manager ever fully committed to Darwin? The evidence suggests he probably wasn’t.  

 

Klopp would give him a brief run in a role before changing things up. At times, he was in and out of the team. He was then given a new position with different requirements to facilitate others, often masking his strengths and exposing his weaknesses. He’d then be used sparingly.  

 

Last season, for example, he scored just twice in his final 12 Premier League appearances and his last start arrived in the 2-0 defeat to Everton in April.  

 

Darwin is a confidence player. 

 

If he’s backed and given the opportunity to make up for the missed chances, he will contribute in the final third. This hasn’t exactly been the case since the switch to Merseyside. He’s been given chances but Klopp never stuck by the misfiring No.9, did he? That is one of the reasons why he finished the season with just a little over 2,000 minutes in the Premier League.  

 

He underperformed his Expected Goals total by seven last term but what might that figure have been had he been an undisputed starter?  

 

Because he misses chances for Uruguay but has the real backing of Marcelo Bielsa. He’s netted 10 in his last eight for his national team and he looks like a completely different player right now. He’s full of confidence. He’s full of self-belief. He’s given 85 minutes rather than 60 minutes. And while it might not seem like much, this is clearly helping him as an individual.  

 

It also helps that Uruguay are playing a 4-2-3-1 shape and have made him their main man in attack as they seek Copa America glory. Perhaps that is the blueprint for Arne Slot next season. After all, the Dutchman used a similar system at Feyenoord and he did help turn Santiago Gimenez into a free-scoring forward following his move from Mexico.  

 

 

Gimenez posted a higher Expected Goals average in Holland. Not only was he getting better chances as a result of the team being built to facilitate him as a threat but he was also improving as a marksman. For example, his shot accuracy went from 33% with Cruz Azul to 46% in the Dutch top flight. It was very much a joint effort. Feyenoord found a way to get him more involved and Gimenez worked on himself as a goal-getter. 

 

Darwin already posts high shot numbers, a number of those wouldn’t necessarily be classed as well-worked team moves. His pace allowed him to get on the end of opportunities and he is someone who is happy to carve out his own chances. Maybe he is going to benefit from more of a reliable supply line in a Slot system, just as Gimenez did. Maybe that is what turns him into more of a reliable goalscorer.  

 

Slot might not have to do much with Darwin the player. He might focus on Darwin the man. That, coupled with the potential change in shape could see the No.9 carry his international form into club football.

Copa America: Nunez's Uruguay form gives Liverpool boss Slot plenty to ponder