A glance into Darwin Nunez‘s statistics alongside these gamers goes some technique to explaining why Liverpool’s switch committee had been determined to get their man.
When Liverpool loosen their purse strings, they achieve this with an excessive amount of warning.
The actual fact they had been keen to put together a deal that’s prone to make Nunez the most costly participant within the membership’s historical past tells you every thing it’s good to learn about how extremely they fee him.
When it turned clear that Sadio Mane can be ending his six-year affiliation with Liverpool this summer season, eyes turned to the participant the Reds would select as his substitute.
Recruitment shines
With Mane enjoying nearly all of the second half of the season because the central participant in Liverpool’s assault, many assumed a striker can be focused. These assumptions had been appropriate.
In typical Liverpool trend, inside per week of the hyperlinks to Nunez having gained any credibility, he was by the door on the AXA Coaching Centre.
Darwin Nunez: “There’s Firmino, who is a good participant; after which Jota, who’s one other nice striker; Luis Diaz, Salah.
“To play alongside these ‘monsters’ goes to be one thing actually particular for me, as a result of as a child you dream of going far.” ? pic.twitter.com/ZVkmS7LGmt
— This Is Anfield (@thisisanfield) June 14, 2022
In some ways, this was precisely the form of switch Liverpool have steered away from in recent times. A participant being touted in the marketplace for €100 million, quite a few events, a latest change in agent and a possible bidding battle.
That didn’t put them off. Newly appointed sporting director Julian Ward ensured the Reds had been positioned on the entrance of the queue for the Uruguayan’s signature. An £85m bundle was agreed, with Nunez penning a six-year contract.
We all know that Ward, his predecessor Michael Edwards and the remainder of the Reds’ switch committee have used statistics and participant information to nice success of their glorious participant recruitment technique.
Numbers communicate for themselves
Nunez’s numbers could have been put up towards different potential targets, in addition to Liverpool’s present forwards and related gamers within the Premier League.
A dive into a few of that information exhibits why they’ve deemed him the proper addition to their assault on the good time.
This Is Anfield have put Nunez’s home numbers from final season up towards Erling Haaland, Man City‘s much-coveted new striker, Son Heung-min, 2021/22 joint-Golden Boot winner with Mohamed Salah, in addition to the Egyptian, Mane and Diogo Jota, the Liverpool forwards with probably the most appearances final season:
And it’s simple to see why Liverpool had been ready to go large for Nunez.
The comparisons to Man City‘s Erling Haaland are nicely underway, with the league’s two standout groups each asserting the signings of recent star strikers throughout the area of 48 hours. Certainly, the race for the 2022/23 Premier League Golden Boot could be the battle of the highest knots!
Liverpool, like each different prime workforce in Europe, could have favored what they noticed from Haaland at Borussia Dortmund. A participant who has been broadly considered the sport’s subsequent greatest No. 9 for a while.
Unsurprisingly, they had been priced out a deal for the Norwegian, with some stories claiming Metropolis’s deal might find yourself costing them round £300m while you consider bonuses, agent charges and wages.
Fascinating, then, that Nunez can boast a greater aim conversion fee, a greater shot success fee and extra objectives per 90 than Haaland, who performed 5 league video games fewer than the Reds’ new No. 27 final season.
The Uruguayan additionally outshines Son, a participant who has been linked with the Reds in some quarters, in most elements. Salah marks larger than Nunez for assists and anticipated objectives, however that solely makes the prospect of them combining in the identical workforce all of the extra mouth-watering.
All indicators level to the actual fact the Reds have acquired a scientific finisher. Whereas Nunez and Mane are streets aside when it comes to fashion, you’ll anticipate the ex-Benfica man will have the ability to replicate Mane’s numbers in entrance of aim and extra.
Realistically, Luis Diaz was the extra like-for-like substitute for Mane, and Liverpool’s teaching employees might be licking their lips on the prospect of fine-tuning the ex-Porto man’s recreation to make him extra environment friendly in entrance of aim.
Nunez, when it comes to the numbers he’ll be anticipated to carry to Liverpool’s assault, could possibly be extra of a long-term substitute for Salah, who is about to depart the membership on a free switch subsequent summer season as issues stand. The actual fact Nunez may function huge in a entrance three may even have appealed to Klopp.
Whereas will probably be unhappy to see Mane, who will go down as a membership nice, go away for a brand new problem this summer season, no person ought to be in any doubt that changing him with a participant like Nunez, who’s eight years youthful, is extra astute enterprise from Liverpool.
As Klopp’s first big-money signing, Mane has been on the coronary heart of all the success the membership have had in recent times, however Liverpool are clever to not offer him the reported £328,000 per week wages he’s reportedly set to earn at Bayern Munich.
Instances a’ changin’ and there’s each likelihood Nunez might be main the evolution of this massively thrilling Liverpool workforce.
