Liverpool: Slot urged to turn back on expensive signing who’s ‘not where he should be’
Steve Nicol has urged new Liverpool manager Arne Slot to start the season with Diogo Jota up top instead of Darwin Nunez, as the latter is “not where he should be” in terms of finishing ability.
Nunez has struggled to fully convince people of his quality during his time in the Premier League. In his first campaign, he bagged nine top-flight goals, and last season, in 36 games, he found the net 11 times.
In terms of goals in all competitions for the Reds, he was second only to Mohamed Salah, but Cody Gakpo and Jota were both within touching distance of the Uruguayan, and he also missed a number of chance to grow his tally.
As such, Nicol feels that it should be Jota who is preferred up top in the first game of the new season, with new manager Slot having the chance to show who his best side is from the off, and turning his back on Nunez for now.
“I think Jota is one of the best finishers in the Premier League and that’s the reason I’ve got him ahead of Nunez,” Nicol said on ESPN.
“That’s [finishing] the one thing that Nunez has to get better at. Jota is a better finisher than him and with a new manager coming in you’ve got to want to have a good start, you can’t think about the future.
“Right now, in terms of finishing, he’s not where he should be. Jota is where he should be and that’s why I’d start him against Ipswich.”
LIVERPOOL TRANSFER NEWS FROM F365
👉 Liverpool ‘launch offer’ to sign ‘world’s best’ to ‘replace’ Klopp favourite after ‘interesting twist’
👉 Liverpool: ‘Specialist priority’ target from ‘outside PL’ is ‘one to watch’ amid three signing reveal
Jota started the last two pre-season games, which were wins against Arsenal and Manchester United, in a sign that it might well be the Portuguese who is going to start the season.
In the last campaign in which he played the majority of Liverpool’s games, 2021/22, Jota bagged 15 league goals, as well as six in other competitions.
That’s a better return than Nunez’s best campaign as a Red, and given the former is still only 27, if he can ensure he stays fully fit, he should be able to hit the ground running and have a very good season.
Nunez will hope for the same, and confidence will be instilled in whoever gets the nod for the first game of the season.
