Uruguayan striker Darwin Núñez is currently linked with a move from Liverpool to Napoli.
Both teams have been in contact and are reportedly very close to reaching a final agreement on the transfer fee.
If this deal goes through, Antonio Conte will have a remarkable squad reinforcement that will help him protect the team’s Serie A title for the upcoming season, knowing that he will need an attacking reinforcement to compete with Romelu Lukaku.
At the same time, Conte could be a very suitable head coach for Núñez to maximise his value and impact and succeed in bringing out his best version, as he has done with several other players throughout his managerial career.
It is not a secret that Núñez has been continuously criticised by football fans and experts regarding his level and performance, with many critics claiming that he is an overrated forward who does not deserve to play for the Reds.
Therefore, in this tactical analysis and scout report, we will assess Darwin Nunez abilities and attacking traits throughout the latest period to determine whether his spell in the Premier League at LFC was successful and whether he is actually an overrated striker.
This Darwin Núñez analysis will also focus on his possible addition to Napoli and what Conte should work on with Núñez to improve his weaknesses if the deal goes through.
Darwin Núñez Scout Report At Liverpool
Núñez is a 26-year-old forward who started professional football at Peñarol in Montevideo before moving to the Spanish Segunda División side Almería in 2019.
His success at Almería attracted Benfica‘s interest, and in 2020, he was signed for a record sale for both Almería and the Segunda División.
Núñez quickly adapted to Portugal’s playing style and made an immediate positive impact with five assists in his four initial league games.
This was followed by numerous other successes with Benfica, including becoming the team’s all-time top scorer in modern UEFA Champions League history.
Moreover, during his second season with Benfica, he was awarded the Bola de Prata award as the top scorer of the Primeira Liga, named to the Team of the Year, and considered the Player of the Year.
These remarkable achievements attracted Liverpool’s attention, and the Uruguayan international was soon transferred to Anfield for a record transfer fee of £85m (add-ons included).
The record transfer placed a significant amount of hope and pressure on Núñez, impacting his adaptation process.
He received a lot of criticism, especially when he missed some key goal-scoring occasions.
These criticisms are still being expressed despite the fact that Núñez scored many vital goals for Liverpool and was very useful to the team overall, whether during his first, second, or third season.
Núñez is a modern striker with classic traits and abilities.
In other words, he is a striker who uses his headers well, relies heavily on physical strength to win duels and beat his opponents, moves a lot without the ball, even outside the box, and, more importantly, always makes himself available and ready to receive passes and finish inside the net in the least complicated and quickest possible way.
Núñez’s initial issue at Liverpool was related to finishing, especially in terms of concentration when executing moves.
This was noticeable on numerous occasions, especially in one-on-one situations with goalkeepers, which led fans and media to criticise Núñez and blame him for his poor finishing, while justifying their argument based on the high transfer fee he was bought for.
Although they have the right to criticise the player for those errors, it is completely normal for a new player in the EPL and at Liverpool to not perform at his best and to make errors during his first season.
Núñez played 29 EPL games in his first season, scoring nine goals and providing three assists, which was not bad for a first season, yet not as expected given the hype he received upon his arrival.
During the second season, his numbers witnessed remarkable progress, especially in terms of assists, as he became more impactful in that regard, making 10 assists and scoring 11 goals in 36 EPL games.
This also means that Núñez did not make significant progress in terms of goal-scoring numbers during the second season.
In his third season, however, Núñez’s goalscoring numbers were disappointing despite having played 30 games.
He only scored five goals this season and provided three assists despite being the team’s striker.
His average this season was 0.23 goals per game, which is a downgrade from his goalscoring averages in the past two seasons.
Darwin Núñez Misses
Although some arguments can defend Núñez’s lack of goalscoring in his last season with Liverpool, such as Mohamed Salah’s impressive goalscoring form, the team’s reliance on him for finishing, and the use of Núñez for playmaking, yet, all these arguments cannot explain the considerable drop of Núñez’s goalscoring numbers.
Núñez indeed shoots an average of 2.36 times per game with a 47.9% average of shots on target, yet he still misses many chances from inside and outside the box, as the following graphic shows.
Therefore, statistically speaking, it would be unfair to argue that Núñez’s spell with Liverpool was positive, especially if we base our judgment on his goal-scoring and assist-making numbers.
It is true that he had better numbers in his second season and was more useful in terms of assists; however, his third season confirmed that he is not a suitable main striker for Liverpool, as he proved that he cannot guarantee a steady, convincing number of goals per season.
Therefore, Liverpool are definitely making the right choice by trying to sell the player.
At the same time, this does not mean that Núñez is a bad player or one who cannot be reliable at the highest level.
On the contrary, Núñez can prove very useful and impactful if put in a different environment and league.
By moving to a league like the Serie A where profiles like Núñez have more chances to shine, it will not be surprising for him to put on more convincing and impactful performances especially in a team like Napoli where there are the elements needed for his success.
Núñez can follow the path of someone like Edinson Cavani, who is also Uruguayan and who became a Napoli legend at one point.
Even though both players’ profiles and traits are different, Núñez is capable of becoming a reliable striker for Napoli mainly because he is naturally a clinical finisher.
Despite his weaknesses, upon examining Núñez’s goals, we can notice that he scores goals with ease, utilising various techniques depending on the situation he is in.
Darwin Núñez Goalscoring
For instance, the following example highlights his ability to dribble past the goalkeeper and still succeed in scoring despite the goalkeeper’s disturbance.
This means that Núñez can be very dangerous when he wants to, using his explosive pace and body feints to get past defenders and goalkeepers.
Moreover, Núñez proved that he can score using both feet and from different angles.
This is particularly important for strikers, as it demonstrates their ability to devise diverse solutions to complex situations.
With 3.91 dribbles per game and a dribbling success rate of 49.3%, Núñez exploits his dribbling abilities to get out of difficult situations.
He usually varies his dribbles and uses his pace to remain unpredictable.
Darwin Núñez Left-Footed Golascoring
This goal example is the perfect illustration of Núñez’s ability to create danger even when put in a situation that restricts him from creating something.
Núñez received the ball on the right side of the box and was marked by an opponent.
Instead of going for a cross, he decided to fix the defender, dribble past him, and aim for a curved shot using his weaker left foot.
He scored a beautiful goal that showcased his goal-scoring instinct and highlighted his creativity inside the box.
Furthermore, Núñez is not just a static goalscorer, but also a team player who contributes significantly to the playmaking process, often without retreating, by providing passes while inside or near the box.
Darwin Núñez Heat Map
The following heat map shows Núñez’s movement and positioning, confirming that he retreats at times and leans to both wings.
On numerous occasions, he proved that he could be very dangerous even when retreating or moving to the wings, whether with shots from a distance like in the above example or with key passes/assists.
In fact, Darwin Núñez has been very valuable for Liverpool in terms of passing not only during the second season, when he had some remarkable assist-making numbers, but also during the first and third seasons, since he contributed numerous key passes, especially to both wingers.
Darwin Núñez Assist-Making
What is remarkable about Núñez is that he is not an egoistic striker but rather one who favours his teammates whenever he notices that they are better positioned to score, as in the following action with Mohamed Salah.
In fact, he usually opts for passing in such situations even when he knows that he could take a shot himself, like in this action.
This means that Darwin Núñez thinks intelligently during such situations and determines quickly whether it would be better to shoot or to pass, unlike many strikers who automatically opt for shooting even when they know that the probability of scoring from that angle is quite low.
Darwin Núñez Areas Of Improvement At Antonio Conte’s Napoli
To succeed in Serie A, particularly at Napoli, Núñez will need to become more clinical in front of goal, which will require considerable individual work.
Antonio Conte will definitely work with Núñez to improve his shooting decision-making and, more importantly, his level of concentration in front of the goal, given that concentration inside the box is one of Núñez’s most striking weaknesses.
Darwin Núñez Missed Chance
Failing to score goals on similar occasions, as shown below, is unacceptable for a player at this level, especially under the management of a demanding head coach like Conte, given that Núñez received the ball in front of an empty goal and failed to score.
In addition to helping Núñez improve his concentration and fix his goalscoring issues through excessive and continuous individual training, it will be important for Conte to exploit the height of Núñez and work on his abilities in the air to make him more reliable in terms of headers and rely on him during set-pieces, knowing that this aspect was not well-used at Liverpool.
Additionally, focusing on Núñez’s pace and his ability to receive long passes, dispossess defenders, turn, and make progressive runs towards the box will be very beneficial for Napoli, as Conte used this method with Romelu Lukaku to make him more dangerous.
Indeed, Núñez does not have the physical strength of Lukaku, but he can be faster than him; therefore, applying the same strategy with Núñez can make the Uruguayan international more dangerous whenever he receives the ball, especially during counterattacks.
Conclusion
It is expected that Núñez will develop significantly under the management of a head coach like Conte, as he is known for pushing players’ potential to the maximum.
That said, Núñez will need to adapt quickly to Serie A and make the necessary efforts to cope with the new environment in order to establish himself in an already title-winning and highly competitive team.
Overall, Núñez is a good striker who needs to work harder to become a world-class forward.
He has been overrated mainly because the high transfer fee paid for his move to Liverpool raised expectations very high for an emerging striker who needed more development to become a complete player.
With a move to Napoli and a head coach like Conte, it is expected that Núñez will reach his full potential in the coming seasons and, why not, become a complete striker, especially if he addresses his goalscoring issues.
