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 Benficas 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 teams 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 goalscoring occasions.
These critics 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, mainly 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.
Therefor
