Jurgen Klopp hits back at critics of Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez
Speaking to Sky Sports, Jurgen Klopp has ridiculed the critics for the unnecessary criticism laid down on Liverpool’s new signing Darwin Nunez, labelling him as a proper striker.
The Reds are set to face Crystal Palace tonight in what would be an important game for Klopp and co. If Liverpool fail to win, the pressure will already be on them considering they drew to Fulham on opening day.
“Imagine if somebody did that to us and said, ‘First day of work, it didn’t work out. Go home, we never want to see you again!’
He’s a handful and is a different type to what we had. He’s very lively and very energetic. Physically he’s really strong and technically he’s really good.”
The Uruguayan forward could start in place of Roberto Firmino, after being benched in his first PL game against the Cottagers. Nunez was signed by Liverpool from SL Benfica for a fee worth £85m, as a potential direct replacement for the outgoing Sadio Mane, who moved to Bayern Munich.
Considering the big fee and the size of the role, there were huge expectations on Nunez even before he kicked a ball in a Liverpool shirt. All eyes were on the player when Liverpool took off to Singapore for their pre-season.
To make matters worse, he did not have a perfect start to his preseason and critics were quick to make claims about the new signing.
As explained by Klopp, it takes time for any professional to take some time in order to get used to the environment and critics were harsh in their judgment of the player after a couple of pre-season friendlies.
The faith shown by his manager and teammates has been repaid by the player, with the Uruguayan being instrumental in Liverpool’s win over Manchester City in the Community Shield Cup.
Even in the opening Premier League fixture where we were struggling against the promoted Fulham, it was Nunez who came from the bench to change the game and salvage a draw for the team.
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With recent impressive performances under his belt, it is a real possibility that he is in the starting line-up for the upcoming fixture against Crystal Palace, where he will get another chance to change the narrative of criticism that is laid down on players having a big fee associated with their name.
