Tottenham star claims Liverpool forward has ‘matured a lot’ as he lives his ‘ultimate dream’
Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur insists Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez has “matured a lot” as he lives his “ultimate dream”.
The Reds signed the Uruguay international from Benfica for an initial €75m with potential for the transfer fee to rise to €100m if certain performance-related add-ons are met.
He scored 34 goals in 41 appearances for the Portuguese side before heading to Anfield with Nunez not quite reaching the numbers he set in the Estádio da Luz.
In his 55 appearances for Liverpool to date Nunez has bagged 21 goals with signs this season that the Uruguayan is fully understanding what Jurgen Klopp wants from him.
Speaking at the end of September, Liverpool boss Klopp told reporters: “[He has made] massive steps in the last few weeks.
“He’s a threat. You all saw the goal, it was probably pretty good, right? That was really strong. He was always available for us. It’s super important that we have now kind of a ball-player.
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“Chip the ball, get it on the chest, from there – like we scored the third [against] Wolves for example, I think it was a similar situation – it’s super important for us. And the defensive work he puts in now, that’s probably the main difference.
“He always wanted it, but he was less coordinated. Now it looks much better, we found a way that we can do it around him.
“Curtis and Dom help there a lot, with how flexible they are in that way. Really good, absolutely.”
And his international team-mate and Tottenham midfielder Bentancur has been impressed by Nunez this season.
Bentancur told Sport 890: “It seems that Darwin has matured a lot.
“And number 9, I think he also deserves it a little for all the work he has done. The only thing he has to do is enjoy himself and try to have fun.
“It is the most beautiful thing to be in a club like Liverpool and defend the national team, which is the ultimate dream that a player has.”
And former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy was also singing Nunez’s praises in October and is glad he’s now getting more game time.
Murphy said on talkSPORT: “I really like what I see [when I watch Núñez]. I’ve been calling for a while now to give him a really good run of games because any young striker who is trying to build his confidence and his standing at a football club needs a good run of games.
“He will score goals. He is [going to miss chances too], but if he plays all the time, will he get you 20 goals? I think he would. I think he will. He looks capable, he’s quick, good in the air, huge.
“Look, Liverpool have got good options in attacking areas. When you play the best teams, him down the middle with Díaz and Salah right and left is the way I’d be playing.
“Not Gakpo, and I like Gakpo but I always look at it like this — if you’re a centre-back for Man City, Man U, Tottenham, Arsenal, and you see the Liverpool team sheet with Gakpo playing or Núñez playing, Núñez [worries you more].”