Tony Cascarino has likened Darwin Nunez to former Chelsea attacker Timo Werner, with the Anfield striker having a mixed first year in the Premier League.
Writing for the Times, the pundit compared the Uruguay international to the now-RB Leipzig forward, with Werner building an unfortunate reputation for himself during his Chelsea years for being an extremely hit-and-miss striker who was more likely to miss an open goal than score.
With Chelsea selling Werner straight back to Leipzig two years after signing the German international, Liverpool will be hopeful that they don’t have to make the same mistake with Nunez in the coming years, and Cascarino believes that the South American has a big year ahead of him at Anfield.
Cascarino said on Nunez’s form: “This is a huge summer for Liverpool. Some big names will leave, they need new faces and they’ve got a major issue to resolve: Darwin Nunez. He’s had the odd moment where it’s clicked but with Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota back he looks nowhere near the starting XI.
“Cody Gakpo is also ahead of him in the pecking order. I hope I’m wrong, but he’s reminding me of Timo Werner at Chelsea, lots of running, effort and promise but ultimately falling short. He needs a big pre-season with lots of goals.”
Nunez has already shown that he is more capable than Werner
A good case can be made that Nunez has failed to live up to expectations at Liverpool based on the fee the Reds paid Benfica for the 23-year-old last summer, yet with 15 goals in all competitions, the attacker has already shown he is more capable of playing in England that Werner, who managed just 12 strikes in his best year at Chelsea.
Indeed, whilst there is a real question of doubt over whether or not Nunez will be a starter next season, the nature of Liverpool as a club means that the forward will get chances to impress, unlike at a team like Chelsea, who would have sold the Uruguayan at the first possible chance this summer.
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