Jurgen Klopp ‘fell in love’ with the idea of signing Darwin Nunez for Liverpool after watching footage of the striker.
That’s according to The Times. They claim that Klopp was taken with Nunez during pre-match opposition analysis before Liverpool played Benfica in April.
The footage reportedly ‘focused heavily’ on the Uruguayan. And the Liverpool boss is claimed to have had his ‘imagination fired’ by Nunez’s ‘blistering pace, eye for goal and workrate.’
Klopp’s impression reportedly remained unchanged after the two games. The 22-year-old bagged goals in both home and away legs against Liverpool and was generally a livewire.
Darwin passes his audition
Before the two games in April, we wrote that Klopp would have the chance to view Darwin up-close as a potential signing.
Back then, there had been one or two rumblings of Liverpool’s interest in signing the striker. But at that stage it looked like a long-shot.
It just goes to show that you can have all the analytics and data analysis you want. When it comes to making signings, still nothing can beat the eye-test.
Of course it’s more-than-likely that Nunez was on Liverpool’s list of targets anyway. The Reds aren’t a club who will throw £85m at a player based on a couple of performances.
Despite that, seeing the player live in the flesh can confirm or dismiss ideas that he could add something to the team.
In Nunez’s case, his relentless displays against Liverpool appear to have tipped the balance in his favour.
As was the case with Takumi Minamino and even Sadio Mane before him, if you play well against Klopp’s Reds, you may well find yourself at Anfield before long.
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