Phil Thompson has likened Darwin Nunez to former Liverpool striker Fernando Torres and predicted ‘he will get better’ after an already impressive start to life on Merseyside.
The 23-year-old started on the bench at the weekend, with Jurgen Klopp instead opting for the tried-and-trusted Roberto Firmino upfront. But the Reds front-line lacked edge, and Nunez’ introduction lit the touchpaper for two goals - he scored the first and set up Mohamed Salah for the second - to level the score and salvage a point.
Those significant contributions added to the Charity Shield header against Manchester City and a promising pre-season in which the former Benfica man has settled in instantly and shown the hunger to improve. And Reds legend Thompson has backed the forward to get better and better, likening his hunger to please the Anfield faithful to that of Fernando Torres.
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“I’m very excited. We all go on about how well he played for Benfica against Liverpool because he tore us apart,” Thompson told the Off The Ball show. “I liken the boy to Torres, when Torres first came to Liverpool.
“The Torres that was hungry, he was passionate, he wanted to learn, he wanted to improve, he ran the channels, he harassed people, he was good in the air. He really wanted it massively, and I see that in this young man.
“He will get better because he looks as though he just wants to please everybody at the moment. But I just think he’s got all of those attributes. Different attributes than what some of our players have got, and I think he will - as with Haaland… the guy is going to score goals and Darwin Nunez will do likewise.”
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