13 Comments

Very good points here Josh, one thing I would add is the offsides.

I really hope Slot can get this through to Nunez, it seems to derail momentum and this will be more frustrating after a potentially slower build up.

If he keeps doing that I can see a more tactical manager in possession losing patience pretty quickly.

How good was Diaz by the way, if Slot can get him being that direct and more instinctive we could have a level above Anthony Gordon.

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founding

The fitness of Jota could be key for Nunez future. People say Jota can’t stay fit, but neither could Gomez, until he did. There is no guarantee Jota won’t stay fit all season, and if he does, he’s the better bet to lead the line than Nunez.

I expect Jota to start against Ipswich. If he plays well, stays fit, and keeps playing well, then Nunez will be a just a bench option for the opening games of the season.

Whatever happens this season feels make or break for both players. If Jota has more injuries then it just makes him more dispensable next summer. If Nunez doesn’t fire then he will surely be sold next summer.

Interesting times.

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Typical insightful analysis, and also typical in not mentioning the fact that his chance conversion rate is not good enough. I do understand that expert analysts like Josh see that getting "big" chances and taking shots should always to lead to a certain number of goals, but for Nunez this has not proved to be the case. In 2022/23 he had the 3rd most big chances in Europe behind Mbappe and Messi, but that didn't lead to plenty of goals. Ah but it suggests that it will,.... but it hasn't. I cannot see this changing this season.

I note that Josh mentions his intelligence. This is an important and key point and hasn't been mentioned enough about Nunez. In autumn 2022, just a few months into his LFC career, I commented on a Telegraph article saying "...he's a bang average finisher, he has zero game intelligence, he'll be gone within 2 years...". Ok not quite right, but if he was to be sold this month, would any LFC fan complain. I think not. £50m offered - bite their hands off!

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Damn times paywall..

Ah so all those rumours were true… that said, I always thought Nunez was a data outlier on the volume of high quality chances measurements that appeal to Graham..

Yeah so I agree entirely. Fascinated to see what happens but having that structure around should support Nunez and we can see if indeed he can polish off the rough edges.

May take a little time to get Darwin up to speed and understanding where he’s wanted but no doubt he’ll make an impact one way or another..

Re Trent.. obviously first game, barely trained with the squad etc, but I thought Trent instantly answered any (strange) questions about whether he can fit in a possession style..

Just better at passing than everyone. Just more vision.

Give Trent a bit longer to learn the patterns and movement and build-up and he will also learn where the space will be created to be able to hit those deadly first time passes too.

Instantly straight in as starter for me, no doubt.

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I really want him to do well as like you say he always occupies the opposition. Be interesting to see how this develops with bald fella in charge! 😃

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Great article- as always. Would have been interesting to understand how Nunez played at Benfica / how Benfica played - that caused Liverpool or Klopp to want him. If I recall, in the CL quarter final tie, Nunez was a real handful and displayed exactly the same characteristics he does at Liverpool - only he seemed to score more often at Benfica, with practically a goal or assist every game in his second season. Perhaps a corollary to Josh’s point that he has a very low assist rate.

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Great piece Josh. Really like the embedded videos, and this one on the orange trainers was particularly priceless and hilariously true. The other bit of writing that I love was, " ....Slot, who has the word ‘patience’ tattooed in Dutch on the back of his neck. Alright, maybe that isn’t true, but I know you thought about it for a second. " 😂

Laughed out loud at that one. Brilliant mate.

Interesting that you point out Graham had reservations about Nuñez. I always wondered whether the reason we had we had the exodus of Edwards, Graham then latterly Ward, was that Jürgen eventually had all the keys to the castle, and essentially too much influence on transfers, Nuñez being the prime example, which led to the data suits finding they had less and less control leading to their exit.... and most interestingly their return (minus Graham) when our beloved Messiah left.

Intriguing times ahead for Darwin, I think you're right. Thanks for something else to think about other than the what every other media outlet is going on about, on whether San Sebastian is sunnier than Liverpool ! Lovely piece.

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I worry for a player who is yet to properly grasp the offside rule.

It's a clean slate for him under Slot, but I don't think that's necessarily a positive for him unfortunately. I can't help but feel he'd be better suited to a counter attacking side where control is not as important. Clearly very talented, but if Jota is fit, Jota starts.

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Good piece. Ian Graham’s new book is shedding interesting light on some of the recruitment decisions post Edwards and Nunez is a good example. Would Edwards have signed him? Slot has to try to get a tune out of him as he was an expensive signing and both results and resale value are therefore important. Jota isn’t going to stay fit for the whole season because there is no evidence he can - so Nunez will likely have a significant say on the outcome of the 24/25 season. One way or another.

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As long as Jota is fit, Nunez will not start the important games. That will be the problem for the squad. Nunez can succeed if he accepts that.

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I’ve enjoyed your Nunez content on the Wrap, Redmen and on here as I completely disagree with nearly all your conclusions about him in terms of the value he adds and the level he could reach. The data side you detail is great and its the conclusions to be drawn from that data (where we hugely differ) that Keeps things interesting! Personally I’d take any loan (given no chance anyone will pay us for him) and start again with a Nkunku type forward that we should have got in the first place

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Great write up Josh. I believe Nunez will thrive under Slot too. Everyone knows he needs to be more calm and composed when it comes to his finishing. Most attacks were off the cuff under Jurgens Liverpool and I think it was just too frantic for Nunez, this didn't help with him already a frantic/chaotic player. Put him in a more controlled and methodical environment under Slot and I can see him becoming more composed in front of goal, reaching new levels of his potential and becoming more polished. Nunez with a cool head in front of goal with the amount of chances he gets would be lethal.

I do think that it is imperative that he gets off to a good start under Slot as he will need to impress to cement his position as our CF. With him being a confidence player it could go either way for him at the beginning if he starts off missing chances again then that would concern me because his form dips when his confidence is low but on the other hand if he gets off to a good start then we could see the diamond we all know he can be.

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As much as he gets me off my seat, I can see this season being a wasted opportunity if Slott retains Nunez and insists on taming him. Missing Nkunku for Darwin is criminal. Which do you think Arne would have now?

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