Such is the extent of scrutiny over Darwin Nunez‘s each look that it will be no shock if, within the occasion he grabs the winner towards Man Metropolis on Sunday, he lifts his shirt to disclose his personal ‘Why all the time me?’ message.
Solely, on the proof on Wednesday’s 2-2 draw at Villa Park and the heavy criticism he confronted for his enter, there can be no assure he’d even rating it.
There isn’t a assure he’ll even make it onto the pitch, both.
Nunez’s left-footed effort, blazed over the bar with the purpose gaping halfway by the second half, was statistically the sixth-worst miss on this Premier League marketing campaign to this point.
It was value 0.75 xG, with Marcus Tavernier (0.94), Nicolas Jackson (0.90), Cole Palmer (0.89), Emerson (0.76) and Dominic Solanke (0.76) the one gamers to squander larger probabilities in entrance of purpose.
In equity to Nunez, it was a tougher likelihood than has been made out: he was huge of the purpose, underneath stress from centre-back Axel Disasi, on the stretch whereas working at full pelt and capturing together with his weaker foot.
There’s actually an argument to be revamped whether or not Dominik Szoboszlai even wanted to make the cross to him, having discovered himself in a one-on-one with Emi Martinez with the choice to fit it or dink it over the goalkeeper.
However this recent storm Nunez has confronted comes with a ferocity borne of numerous different missed probabilities resembling this, and the esteem of a £85 million price ticket.
A club-record signing taking part in up entrance for the perfect aspect in England ought to be nearing the tip of February with significantly greater than six objectives in 35 video games and have began significantly greater than 12 occasions within the Premier League and Champions League.
As a substitute Nunez finds himself on the periphery and, when referred to as upon, invariably disappoints.
Whereas his league-high fee of 0.99 huge probabilities missed per 90 minutes since becoming a member of Liverpool in 2022/23 is much like that of Erling Haaland (0.95, per Sky Sports activities), in contrast to his Man Metropolis counterpart he doesn’t have the freakish purpose fee to counterbalance that.
Nunez suffered with comparisons to Haaland as each arrived within the Premier League on the identical time throughout a revival of the basic centre-forward, however he’s now over midway by his third season on the membership and has barely progressed.
Even past these evident misses – of which Wednesday’s was removed from his worst, as Luton followers will fondly recall – there stay the identical flaws that defied Jurgen Klopp after he instigated his signing from Benfica.
The Uruguayan was all the time an odd selection to interchange Roberto Firmino as the focus of Liverpool’s assault and the membership has suffered the consequences ever since.
Klopp repeatedly harassed the necessity for Nunez to align together with his calls for off the ball, whereas what has been described as a reluctance to be taught the English language shared all through the squad and workers has made tactical directions tougher to convey.
And whereas he has now earned a popularity as a hard-runner, ever keen to press, he nonetheless resembles a starkly totally different profile to Firmino earlier than him and now each Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz.
On a couple of event Slot has referred to the variations between Nunez and Jota and Diaz, with the latter duo becoming the mould of a ‘nine-and-a-half’ in comparison with a conventional No. 9.
His desire for Diaz – a pure winger solely this season transformed into the central position – over Nunez has made it patently clear which profile of striker he plans to construct round at Liverpool in the long run.
Diaz, although removed from the best resolution, is extra comfy dropping deep and occupying areas that can enable Liverpool’s common goalscorers to flourish.
His system could also be markedly totally different, however it’s no fluke that Slot’s wingers, in Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo, are the first supply of objectives simply as Salah and Sadio Mane had been when dovetailing with Firmino underneath Klopp.
Whereas it was advised previous to his arrival at Anfield that Slot noticed Nunez as his new undertaking up entrance – having coaxed free-scoring kind out of a equally troubled striker at Feyenoord in Santiago Gimenez – there may be now each indication that will likely be reduce quick in the summertime.
“Gamers miss probabilities, that I can settle for, however what was tougher to simply accept was his behaviour after that likelihood,” Slot advised reporters on Thursday morning, having had time to digest the consequence at Villa.
“It acquired an excessive amount of in his head the place he wasn’t the standard Darwin that works his arse off and makes positive he helps the crew.”
Slot added: “I’ll inform him you may miss an opportunity, however you can’t miss out on work fee.
“That’s the lifetime of a striker – he is aware of, he’s 25, he can have missed and scored probabilities in his profession, so no drawback in any respect.
“It’s a part of the job of a No. 9 that you just generally miss when folks count on you to attain, however it isn’t a part of the job to decelerate the work fee and that’s one thing we are going to discuss.”
There’s very a lot a way that Nunez let his coach down together with his utility towards Villa, however it’s notable that this was not the primary time he has regarded lower than .
Whether or not by design or not, this drop in work fee has coincided with the collapse of a proposed transfer to the Saudi Professional League late within the winter switch window, with experiences indicating that Liverpool rejected a switch.
It was claimed that Al-Nassr made two bids, the second value upwards of £62.4 million, and had been in superior talks with the participant himself solely to be thwarted by Liverpool’s reluctance to promote at a time after they would wrestle to interchange him.
There have been two takeaways from that, nonetheless: firstly, Nunez was clearly keen to barter his departure with the carrot of a rumoured £558,000-a-week little doubt interesting; and secondly, the membership would seemingly have countenanced a sale at a extra handy level.
That can certainly come in the summertime, as like with Christian Benteke earlier than him a Liverpool supervisor’s makes an attempt to remould his aspect round a basic No. 9 have merely not labored out for Nunez.
A change within the dugout, from Brendan Rodgers to Klopp, helped facilitate Benteke’s swift exit and there can be little shock if the identical performed out on the finish of Slot’s first marketing campaign on Merseyside.
