In the coming days, Liverpool’s preseason is set to get off. Jürgen Klopp has been charged with building on last season by bringing a genuine evolution to Anfield once the new season gets underway. Given that Alexis Mac Allister has already been acquired, two new players might be ready to participate in preseason from the start.
Given that the Reds have informed RB Leipzig of their desire to trigger Dominik Szoboszlai’s release clause, he appears set to be the next player through the door. The Hungarian international may be ideal for Darwin Néz in particular and, coupled with Mac Allister, would rejuvenate Klopp’s engine room for years to come.
The Uruguayan striker arrived in England last summer after being acquired from Benfica for a transfer cost that might set a club record of $109 million (£85 million/€100 million), add-ons included. The South American was seen as a Sadio Mané replacement, but it quickly became apparent that he was not like his Anfield teammates.
Since joining Liverpool in 2015, Klopp has favored two categories of attacking players. In plain English, it’s either a wide forward who makes a cut inside and scores goals, or a false nine. Nunez, on the other hand, positions himself as more of a typical number nine and doesn’t match any of those models.
The 24-year-old attacker is very much a poacher who lurks in the shadows and nearly avoids the ball. Nunez is more of a natural danger and appears to be almost uncomfortable when needed to drop into deeper positions, in contrast to Roberto Firmino, who has usually played as a link player for the Reds in the final third.
When asked to play like Firmino in his first season in the Premier League, he struggled, and when he was played on the wings, it became obvious that he wasn’t very adept at outmuscling opponents in one-on-one scenarios. Although he is swift, direct, and fierce, he is not a wide man in the same vein as Mané, Mohamed Salah, or Luis Daz.
Nunez’s habits have made Klopp reevaluate his approach, which has caused him to. With him in the lineup, the Reds haven’t been able to sustain attacks, and a large part of it is due to his inability to hold onto the ball and participate in passing moves as Liverpool’s most advanced player in terms of position.
Nunez is practically at his best when defenses are stretched and he is allowed to finish movements in the penalty area, which is why Szoboszlai and Mac Allister can be of assistance to him. Within the constraints of Klopp’s new-look 3-2-5 formation, first used in April, the two players would almost definitely play behind him.
With two number 10s now successfully supporting Liverpool behind Nunez, the Reds should be better able to handle the mayhem that frequently follows when he’s on the field. Real control is required behind the Uruguayan international because of how he plays on the field, which breeds anarchy.
With the right resources, Szoboszlai and Mac Allister can let Liverpool take in everything Nunez produces. The former consistently provides his teammates with passing options no matter how many opponents are around him, and the latter just never drops the ball despite his expert positioning.
The Red Bull star hasn’t officially committed as of the time of writing, but when he does, he’ll work with Mac Allister to help Klopp give Nunez a solid foundation on which to succeed in the next season.
