Darwin Nunez has yet to start a game for Liverpool this season and Arne Slot has explained what he needs to do
Arne Slot insists Liverpool have “a lot of confidence” in Darwin Nunez as he detailed the areas where the striker can improve after a frustrating start to his campaign. Nunez has been limited to four substitute appearances since Slot took over from Jurgen Klopp in the Anfield dugout during the summer with Diogo Jota the preferred central striker.
Including the end of last season, the Uruguay international has started only one of Liverpool’s last 12 matches and has scored just once since his dramatic late winner at Nottingham Forest in early March.
Slot, though, is adamant that despite the lack of minutes, the hectic schedule means Nunez – who appeared for the final quarter of the Champions League win at AC Milan on Tuesday – will be given an opportunity to stake his claim for regular starts over the coming weeks.
READ MORE: Arne Slot explains Liverpool’s plan for Martin Zubimendi and Ryan Gravenberch improvement
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“It’s always difficult because players but also media only think you have confidence in a player if you play him,” said the Liverpool head coach, whose team entertain Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
“We have confidence in all of them, otherwise you don’t bring a player in if you’re 3-1 up (at Milan) about half-an-hour before the end or last week against Nottingham Forest (when) he came on for the last half-an-hour.
“There’s a lot of confidence in him. But there are two players for that position and I could even come up with more who could play in that position.
“He is in competition with Diogo, who has done really well. But many games have to be played and there will be enough time to judge Darwin, if he improves and how he improves and if he can do special things for the club.”
Nunez, as with each Liverpool striker, is being given assistance in adapting to Slot’s requirements, with the Reds boss hinting the 25-year-old must enhance on-field understanding with his fellow forwards.
“I think it comes to what do you have to do when we have the ball and when we don’t have the ball, and fit his own characteristics into that,” said the Reds head coach. “We did work with him on his qualities to get the best out of him. But there’s also a general thing he has to understand, like all the others.
“We have shown him videos. Not only him, our staff is working a lot with videos, with individuals and that is about team orientation, where to position himself when we have the ball, when we don’t have the ball.
“So this is what we show them a lot, and then how he can bring the best out of his own qualities compared to the other players we have. They all have their own characteristics. So we play with Mo or with Lucho or with Federico or with Cody, it’s always a bit different where you have to position yourself.”
Explaining the differences between Jota and Nunez, Slot added: “I think Diogo is a bit more a striker that can also go into the midfield and play as a false nine or a nine-and-a-half, where Darwin is more the target man that finishes off a good attack.
“There’s not one type I prefer. It always depends. I like to play a certain style of football, high pressing, dominating, creating as much chances as we can, scoring a lot of goals, not conceding a lot – I think that goes for every manager! We want to have the ball a lot.”
Slot pointed to the experience of Santiago Gimenez at his former club Feyenoord, with the Mexico international striker scoring just twice in the first half of the Dutch league season on his arrival two years but netting 26 times in 41 appearances in all competitions last season.
“Santiago is a nice example of him scoring a lot of goals, but if you look back at the amount of minutes he had in the first half of the season when I arrived, it wasn’t that much,” said the Liverpool head coach. “It took him some to adjust to the intense playing style of what we want from him, and then at a certain moment his goals came.
“If you look back at my whole period at Feyenoord, the forwards all scored their goals. That’s what we saw a few days ago with Cody, it doesn’t matter that much who is playing, it’s about the team that creates the chances and these individuals will always score goals.”
Slot is likely to be forced into one change with goalkeeper Alisson Becker having missed the last two days of training with a tight hamstring.
Caoimhim Kelleher is on standby to deputise between the sticks for his first appearance of the season, while Luis Diaz and Andy Robertson are pressing for a recall having been benched at the San Siro in midweek. Harvey Elliott remains out.
