Jurgen Klopp is leaving behind a pretty incredible team for whoever succeeds him at Liverpool.
Klopp’s replacement is going to have one of the hardest jobs in football history, that’s for sure. But whoever it is is also going to inherit some exceptional players.
And whether it’s Thiago Motta or – as looks increasingly likely – Ruben Amorim, they’re going to want to count on Darwin Nunez.
The Liverpool striker has been fantastic for most of the season, scoring 18 times and laying on 12 assists. After a difficult debut campaign in 2022/23, Nunez has kicked on and gone up several levels.
One man who has always backed him through the difficult times has been Klopp. And speaking to Sky Sports today, the 56-year-old admitted that he’s seen something ‘so special’ from his No.9.
What has Jurgen Klopp said about Darwin Nunez
Nunez was brilliant again for Liverpool during Thursday’s win over Sheffield United. Pundit Dion Dublin even described him as ‘being a nightmare’ for the opposition defence.
And with Klopp’s interview with Sky coming a day after that victory at Anfield, Darwin’s performance would have been fresh in his memory.
Nevertheless, it hadn’t always looked likely that Nunez would be turning in these kinds of displays on a regular basis. After his big money move from Benfica in 2022, the 24-year-old initially struggled with the expectation on him.
But, almost two years on , Klopp clearly looks back on that time as the making of Nunez at Liverpool.
“Darwin of course had his problems in the beginning,” says the German. “He didn’t speak a word of English, you are a high profile signing, you don’t hit the target immediately – for us yes but not for the outside world. The other big signing that year, Erling Haaland scores 500 goals. It’s difficult.
“You don’t want to pay attention to it but it’s a public world, you get aware of it. How he went through that is so special.”
How good has Darwin Nunez been this season
In terms of raw numbers, Nunez wasn’t all that bad for Liverpool last season. But as Klopp says, when you’re being compared to Haaland, you’re always going to come off second best.
In the end, the Uruguay international scored 15 times and registered four assists. For a 23-year-old, in a new country and league, it wasn’t terrible. Listen to some though, and they’d have you believe he’s the worst player of all time.
From that position though, it’s hard to argue that Nunez has not improved massively in 2023/24. With at least 10 games still to play, his 30 goal contributions are only behind Mohamed Salah’s 34.
In fact, Nunez is only the fourth player to hit 30 contributions in a single season under Klopp. The others? Salah, who’s done it every year he’s been at the club, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane. Both Firmino and Mane only managed it in one season each. Special indeed.
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