While Liverpool have purchased many excellent players in the last few years, what has been even more impressive is how seamlessly they have slotted into Jurgen Klopp’s team. The manager doesn’t always throw them into the side immediately, but they normally look at home when he decides they’re ready to pull on the red shirt.
Luis Diaz has provided the most recent example of this phenomenon in quite some style, and he didn’t have the benefit of a pre-season to learn the patterns and movements of his new teammates. Despite this lack of preparation time, the Colombian has combined well with Sadio Mane (for whom he provided three assists) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (who teed him up for four clear-cut chances), among others.
With news having broken that Liverpool are prepared to break their transfer record to sign Darwin Nunez, Kopites are starting to dream of seeing the Uruguayan in their side next season. With the tremendous research, analysis and due diligence the club put into every deal they make, they will have a plan for how best to use the Benfica man should his signing be completed. His record in Portugal suggests one player should link up with him particularly well.
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Nunez played both centrally and on the left this season, though with Diaz having already made the latter position his own, it’s reasonable to assume he’ll be going through the middle should he join the Reds. But are Liverpool set for a formation shift?
Although Klopp has largely stuck with a 4-3-3 framework during his time in England, both Diaz and Nunez have spent more time in 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-2 formations, so it’s natural to wonder if a change is afoot. The Reds’ pre-season, which will incorporate matches with both Manchester clubs and Crystal Palace, will make Klopp’s tactical plans for 2022/23 far clearer.
For now, with Mohamed Salah staying next season it’s reasonable to assume he will remain in his favoured position on the right of the attack, no matter the formation Liverpool deploy. This has the potential to work out superbly for Nunez.
The 22-year-old was the top scorer in the Primeira Liga this season, with 26 goals. His top assist provider was Rafa Silva, Benfica’s right sided attacking midfielder and the man who topped Portugal’s assist chart for 2021/22. He set Nunez up for six of his league strikes, and the Reds saw evidence of their combined potency as they linked up for a goal when Liverpool won 3-1 at the Estadio Da Luz.
Silva charged down the right flank with the ball, and though Ibrahima Konate should have cleared his cross, Nunez was on hand to convert the opportunity. While Salah would likely head more directly to goal than the Benfica man did when dribbling that night, it was the sort of opportunity you could easily imagine the Egyptian creating. Liverpool fans have seen him drive forward and square the ball to a colleague often enough to picture that.
A match against Famalicao, who finished eighth in the Portuguese top flight, will never be as important as a Champions League quarter-final. However, what the Nunez-Silva axis achieved in that fixture in December might auger very well for Liverpool.
Their potential new centre-forward scored a hat-trick on that occasion, and all three goals were assisted by Silva. The duo played on either side of the front three in that match, with Haris Seferovic between them. While Liverpool are unlikely to field a 3-4-3 formation as Jorge Jesus did that night, Salah and Nunez on the flanks with, say, Diogo Jota centrally is a tantalising prospect.
In his 148 senior games for club or country, Nunez has combined for more goals with Silva (12) than with any other of his teammates. If he signs for the Reds and a similar trend continues, Salah might easily win the Premier League’s Playmaker of the year award for the second season running.
