Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland have proved why Darwin Núñez is ready to explode for Liverpool

Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland have proved why Darwin Núñez is ready to explode for Liverpool

Darwin Núñez beat Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland in a key statistic which could be a sign he is about to explode next season for Liverpool as he has done before.

Darwin Núñez hasn’t exactly met the heights many expected him to reach in his opening season with Liverpool. But there have been little sparkles hinting at an extremely exciting player, and with time Liverpool might just see that more often.

One particular underlying Núñez stat definitely should give Liverpool fans encouraging hope ahead of next season.

A season that already promises to be a much better campaign for the Uruguayan who has always taken a little time to get going at every club he has been to in his early career. At Benfica, he only scored 14 goals in h

In his first season, he wasn’t quite as mentally sharp. Carrying the burden of Benfica’s most expensive transfer of all time, perhaps just like he has done at Liverpool, he buckled under the weight of expectations a little bit.

But that changed in his second season when those pressures lifted off his shoulders and the Uruguayan was like a man unleashed showing a completely different side to his game, and even showed his destructiveness against Liverpool in the Champions League.

This season, Núñez at times has looked a little out of focus. He’s carried a big burden needing to fulfill excessive expectations at Anfield. And at times he has looked almost too determined to prove himself, losing his cool to get sent off early on in his Liverpool career and often scuffing clear chances in front of goal.

But there’s a lot of potential there.

Núñez’s explosive speed and energy make him a real nuisance and he’s got a knack for finding the right positions to put himself in goal-scoring chances.

It’s no surprise therefore that when it comes to certain underlying metrics, Núñez has been one of the best-performing forwards in Europe’s top five leagues in his first Liverpool season.

For example, for shots on target per 90 minutes in 2022/23, only one player averaged more in all of Europe’s top five leagues than Núñez (1.86). That was Kylian Mbappé (2.38) with others like Lionel Messi (1.70) and Erling Haaland (1.72) rounding up the top 15 players and performing below Liverpool’s Uruguayan star.

That’s quite a distinction for Núñez, who is supposedly a ‘bad finisher.’ On average, he’s getting more shots on target than the vast majority of players in Europe’s top five leagues, and while those shots are not always necessarily ending up as goals just yet, his high volume is a sign that he at least knows how to put the ball on target to test the goalkeeper.

This is a sign that despite Núñez’s turbulent first season at the club, his future at Anfield is far from over. It’s often common for strikers coming for record fees and with big expectations to not hit the ground running immediately.

Even Victor Osimhen, who helped deliver a sensational scudetto to Napoli this season becoming one of the most prolific forwards in Europe in the process, struggled in his first season at Napoli hitting only just 10 goals.

Núñez still has all the ingredients to explode next season, and his ability to hit the ball on target with a better frequency than the likes of Haaland and Messi, who are renowned for their goal-scoring, is just another sign of what is about to come. The Premier League is not ready.

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Ratcliffe can be United hero straight away by blocking this big Liverpool transfer – report

Manchester United are currently in the middle of a protracted takeover process which was set to end in the first quarter of this year but is still rumbling on.

The Glazers are still holding on for dear life and trying to pinch that little bit extra from the two bidders — Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani.

A lot has been written about the potential transfer targets that Nine Two Foundation would sanction should the Qatari bid be successful with the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar being mentioned.

Thuram to Liverpool might not work out if Sir Jim wins bid

If INEOS win the bid, there could be a chance that Liverpool lose out on their preferred midfield target who currently plies his trade in France.

Khephren Thuram plays for INEOS-owned Ligue 1 outfit Nice and he has been linked with a move to Merseyside while United are also known admirers.

The Mirror have written about Liverpool’s interest but if Ratcliffe does end up securing the keys to the kingdom, it would be difficult to imagine sanctioning his departure to United’s fierce rivals.

“Liverpool are planning to use the funds they would have spent on Bellingham to make several new additions and they are plotting a move for Thuram.

“The fact that Nice are owned by Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is one of the frontrunners to buy Manchester United, could further complicate matters.

“If his bid the United is successful, it is extremely unlikely he will sanction a move that would strengthen a rival,” the report mentioned.

It is easy to see why the son of legendary French defender Lilian is garnering interest from the elite sides of Europe. Thuram featured in 48 games across all competitions, scoring twice and registering an impressive eight assists.

Thuram has had a memorable season with Nice

That’s not all as his performances earned him an international debut with France and a spot in the Ligue 1 team of the season.

The 22-year-old can play all across the midfield and can even do a job out wide and is valued at €32million as per Transfermarkt with his Nice deal running until 2025.

Thuram’s skill-sets match with what Ten Hag wants as the France international can double up as an alternative for Casemiro in certain games while he can also play further forward on other occasions.

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