Jamie Carragher claims Darwin Nunez has made a “huge impact” at Liverpool with his “scary” goals-per-minute ratio and compared the striker to club legend Fernando Torres.
Nunez has come in for criticism since his £85million move from Benfica over the summer, especially after a slow start that saw him struggle to affect games and get a damaging red card against Crystal Palace.
The Uruguayan has also suffered due to inevitable comparisons with the summer’s other huge striker signing, Erling Haaland, tearing it up in the Premier League for Manchester City since minute one.
However, the 23-year-old is beginning to turn things round with five goals in his last seven games, including one in the Champions League win over Napoli on Tuesday night, and ex-Liverpool defender Carragher is adamant the forward deserves more credit, even though he still has plenty of work to do.
Speaking as a pundit on CBS, Carragher said: “It’s really interesting watching Nunez. He comes on and he makes a huge impact. He hasn’t set the world alight, he hasn’t done what Haaland’s done and people would’ve expected more for the price-tag.
“But when you look at his minutes on the pitch and how many goals he’s scored per minute... his numbers are actually scary! He’s actually made a huge impact. But there’s still something not quite there, where Jurgen Klopp’s going to play him every single game.
“I think he’s got [similarities to] Fernando Torres. He’s got that power, physically, to knock defenders off. And that blistering pace. But at times, maybe technically, not the best in terms of general play.”
Nunez also drew acclaim from Carragher’s fellow CBS pundit Thierry Henry following the victory over Napoli and the Frenchman drew a comparison to another modern Liverpool legend in the form of Luis Suarez.
Henry said: “I think he needs confidence. When you are at a club and you feel like you are going to play week-in week-out, you’re a bit more cold in front of goal. Because he wants to wow the Liverpool fans, sometimes he rushes it.
“He gets the ball and rushes it instead of controlling it and going on his right foot. I went through that. When you arrive as a big signing, you come in after Sadio Mane and you just overdo it at times instead of being calm and cool.
“He’s the type of guy, that when he gets one, more will come. Is he a finisher like Robbie Fowler? I don’t think so. But he has goals in him. He’s a bit more of a handful. A bit like Alexis Sanchez or a young Luis Suarez.”
