What role does Darwin Nunez play at Liverpool?

It’s been a fine start to the new season for Liverpool’s attacking line.

Mohamed Salah has three goals and three assists, Luis Diaz has three goals and one assist, and Diogo Jota has one of each. On Tuesday, Cody Gakpo’s set-up for Dominik Szoboszlai to put Liverpool 3-1 up in Milan ensured he has his goalscoring contributions this season.

Aside from newcomer Federico Chiesa, a £12.5 million ($16.5 million) signing from Juventus who made his first appearance as a stoppage-time substitute at San Siro, there is one striker missing from that list this season.

Darwin Nunez has been limited to four substitutions, totaling 88 minutes. In those minutes, his impact has been minimal.

The Uruguayan’s cameo against Milan was his 100th appearance for Liverpool. His tally of 33 goals and 17 assists means he has contributed to a goal in one in every two games – and one in three – since his arrival in 2022.

It’s a decent record, but it could be a lot better, especially for a player who initially cost €75 million (£64 million; $84.7 million) and could rise to €100 million after add-ons. Countless missed chances and inconsistent performances have left Nunez at a crossroads in the early stages of his third season at Anfield. He has yet to start a game this season (the only striker other than Chiesa not to have done so) and doesn’t seem to have an obvious place in Arne Slot’s plans.

One of the head coach’s tasks upon arrival was to develop and get more out of a number of players, with Nunez leading the way. The 25-year-old was one of the first players approached by the Dutchman and during that conversation he expressed his confidence in the striker and described in detail how he would fit into his system.

Darwin Nunez has yet to score this season (Piero Cruciatti/AFP via Getty Images)

Despite that, he is not currently a favoured starting option. Nunez was one of the few senior players not on international duty earlier this month, as he was suspended for Uruguay, but Slot still opted not to start him against Forest.

Instead, he opted for Diaz, despite the Colombian having played every minute of his national team’s two matches the week before, and Jota, who started one of Portugal’s two matches and came on as a substitute in the other.

It all means Nunez has failed to establish a rhythm this campaign, a problem exacerbated by his late return to Liverpool for pre-season training following his Copa America efforts. Jota, for example, was back at Kirkby much earlier than Nunez, giving him more opportunity to work with the manager and learn the system.

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When Nunez came on, he struggled to make an impact, although Liverpool won the game comfortably in three of his four substitutions, with control and possession being more important than increasing the lead.

In the 88 minutes he has played so far this season, he has only touched the ball in the penalty area four times, three of which came against AC Milan. He has contributed mainly from deeper positions, which is not surprising given the current state of play.

There was understandable concern about the lack of impact he had at Forest, although he was far from alone: ​​no replacement had a positive impact.

Callum Hudson-Odoi’s winning move, which came after Nunez lost a challenge on the edge of the opposition penalty area, left Liverpool needing two goals in 18 minutes. The average position pitch map below, from 76 minutes to the final score, has Nunez operating in a right-back role rather than a No.9.

The image is slightly misleading, as the striker is there because he only touched the ball in that area in the last 15 minutes of the game. However, the fact that he only touched the ball once, nowhere near the penalty area, when Liverpool needed goals, is concerning.

Rewatch the final stages of the game and Nunez barely moves from the No 9 position between Forest’s two centre-backs – occupying them but not unsettling them. His movement was fine, but he suffered from a lack of service and quality around him on a day when so many individual performances were poor, although that doesn’t absolve him of blame for not providing more of a spark himself.

Body language has often been a clear indicator of Nunez’s mood in the past, but his attitude and commitment have been uncompromising so far. When introduced, he has shown energy without possession and a determination to press and win the ball back, regardless of the time on the clock.

The latter example was the closest he came to finding the net in the dying moments of the match against Milan. With the ball loose in the penalty area, Nunez was alert to react quickly and gain ground to beat goalkeeper Lorenzo Torriani to the ball, but his effort was saved at the near post.

A glimmer of hope for Nunez is Gakpo. He hadn’t started in the first team this season before the game against Milan either, but when he got his chance at San Siro he took it and delivered an excellent performance. It shows how momentum and confidence can be boosted in one fell swoop.

Therefore, it is far too early to draw far-reaching conclusions about Nunez and his status under the new regime: indeed, this slow introduction could all be part of a grand plan. At Feyenoord, Slot did not shy away from slowly bringing in new players while working hard with them on the training pitch. Nunez is not a new signing at Liverpool, but from Slot’s perspective, they are all new players learning a new system. That may take longer for some.

Fans’ patience began to wane towards the end of last season. His last goal for Liverpool came on April 4 against Sheffield United, when he cleared Ivo Grbic’s ball, a streak that has now lasted 14 games.

It helps if he starts in the first team, but like Gakpo, he has to seize the opportunity when it comes.

(Top photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images)