Arne Slot has backed Darwin Núñez to be influential at Liverpool despite not starting him in the first five matches of his tenure. The Uruguayan, who has scored once in 17 club appearances since mid-March, has come off the bench in the past four games.
Núñez will likely be a substitute again for the visit of Bournemouth on Saturday, with Slot preferring different combinations for his front three. Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota and Luis Díaz started the first four Premier League games but Cody Gakpo took his chance at San Siro after replacing the Colombian in the starting lineup. Victory in Italy helped Liverpool bounce back from defeat by Nottingham Forest last Saturday but Slot could be without Alisson, who has a tight hamstring.
“It’s always difficult because players, but also the media, only think you have confidence in a player if you play him,” Slot said of Núñez. “We have confidence in all of them, otherwise you don’t bring a player in if you’re 3-1 up half an hour before the end, or last week against Nottingham Forest he came in half an hour before the end.
“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.”
Jota occupies the central striking role Núñez is most-suited to and has an advantage thanks to his ability to drop deep, with Liverpool’s coaches working hard on Núñez’s positioning. “I think it comes to what you have to do when we have the ball and when we don’t have the ball, and fit his own characteristics into that,” Slot said. “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.”
If Alisson is out, Caoimhín Kelleher will get his first start of the season.
