‘Fans will love him’: Ex-Liverpool midfielder says Darwin Nunez reminds him of former teammate Luis Suárez

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Stewart Downing believes fans ‘will love’ Darwin Nunez as he’s a ‘Luis Suárez type’ of player. The Uruguayan joined Liverpool this summer.

There’s little doubt that Liverpool’s most exciting move this summer was signing Darwin Nunez from Benfica. The Reds paid a fortune to get him, seemingly deciding that the Uruguayan is the future of their attack.

Not that this is the first time we’re saying this about a Uruguayan at Liverpool. Nunez follows in the footsteps of Luis Suárez, of course – one of the best we’ve ever seen at Anfield.

And as it so happens, Stewart Downing believes that Nunez can be that kind of player for Liverpool. Downing played alongside Suarez for a couple of years, seeing exactly how good the former no.7 was.

“I think watching him, the fans will love him,” Downing told the Liverpool Echo. “He has that South America style about him.

“He’s a bit like a Suarez type of player and with the crosses coming in from both sides he is going to thrive on that and the service he is going to get.

“I just see him fitting in really well and Jurge Klopp very rarely buys players that don’t fit into the way he wants to play. I just think he will be a great signing and he is a lot different to Mane. But you need different ways of playing and different dimensions.”

Darwin Nunez and Luis Suárez

If Nunez delivers anything close to what Suárez did, then that fee will be a bargain. Suárez was just that good in Red, putting in some of the greatest performances you’ll ever see.

And we do see where Downing is coming from with the comparison. It’s obviously an easy one to make, given they’re compatriots but that is the kind of striker Liverpool will hope for.

Suárez was a forward who didn’t just lead the line but covered the entirety of it. He was just as likely to pop up on the flank to deliver a cross as he was to toe-poke one home in the six-yard box. The forward got about the pitch as well as anyone, creating havoc everywhere he went and offering virtually everything.

Liverpool have paid what they did for Nunez because they want that type of player again. They want the 22-year-old to cover the entire forward line, they want him to run in behind while also offering a physical target in the box.

Now, the likelihood of Nunez being as good as Suárez was is very small. That’s just reality. But that kind of player? We think he can be that and the fans should absolutely get excited about this one. There’s a lot to come.