Darwin Núñez had been under scrutiny since his arrival on Merseyside. He has already hit double figures and at times he looks unplayable.
He has missed chances he should have scored but with a little bit of fine tuning from Jurgen Klopp he could go on to score many goals for the club.
Klopp has already backed his striker publicly, including recent comments to Viaplay:
“I really hope nobody out there in the job he has is judged early and finally, and they say ‘eh, you’re not good enough’. In my team that will never happen.”
The Uruguayan striker sat down with Sky Sports to talk about how he has adapted to life in England and admitted he believes Jurgen Klopp “wants to see what he saw at Benfica.”
Núñez told Sky Sports “it’s a very big change,” adapting to his new surroundings.
He admits the Premier League is tougher than he thought it would be: “Here, the league is stronger, more competitive. I didn’t expect it to be so strong. Nico Otamendi [the former Manchester City defender and his team-mate at Benfica] told me that, but I still didn’t expect it.
“It has impressed me a lot. There are no bad teams. They are all in this league for a reason. The football is more difficult than in Portugal and more competitive. You don’t get much time.”
I think after those first few months of adaption, things began improving. I feel at home. I feel happy. When I come in, I look forward to training because, luckily, I have people here who speak Spanish.”
“They have supported me really well and they are still supporting me today. That’s what we are here to do. We are a team. If we can help each other, that’s a good thing.
“My team-mates who speak Spanish are always translating because I still don’t understand a lot of things.”
“But watch out, because I am taking English classes. I hope that, in a year and a half, minimum, I will be able to understand everything.”
I think he wants to see what he saw in Benfica,” he tells Sky Sports on Jurgen Klopp, “for example in the games I played against Liverpool [in the Champions League last season], when I performed very well.
“I don’t think I’m playing well at the moment, but I always want to improve. I try to improve every day.
“Klopp knows my strength is my speed, running into space. Also, he tells me that I need to be more calm when I’m playing, and that I need to move more. He tells me that I need that, and that I am a player with a lot of quality. So, that’s more or less what he wants from me – and, of course, that I score goals.”
