Amid increasing calls for Darwin Nunez to join the starting lineup, Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has outlined what the Uruguayan striker needs to do to earn his place on the team.
Diogo Jota has struggled to make an impact – failing to score or assist in matches against Manchester United, Nottingham Forest, and AC Milan – and there is growing pressure for Nunez to take over Jota’s role.
The Uruguay forward has primarily been used as a substitute this season, making four appearances but totaling only 84 minutes on the pitch.
This situation is not unexpected, as Darwin Nunez has appeared somewhat at odds with Slot’s tactical system.
However, the Dutch manager has expressed his belief in Nunez’s ability to integrate into the squad.
In his pre-Bournemouth press conference on Friday, Slot was asked what the 25-year-old must do to be considered for a starting position.
He said: “Same as all the others.
“Work really hard and then the goals will come.
“I think that’s what he did when he came in against AC Milan.
“First of all, you come in for the team. And then as a result of that, attackers score goals or assist.
“That’s also what happened to Cody, but it happened before with Lucho and with Mo and with Diogo.
“If you play in a team like Liverpool, you will always score your goals or get your assists.
“For me, it’s mainly about the work we do without the ball, and that they can score goals and that they can assist I know, and that’s the same with Darwin.
“He will get his chance in the near future, we play a lot of games and I think he’s fitter and fitter now, understands day by day better what we expect from him.
“But he’s in competition with Diogo who, in my and our opinion, has done really well in the last games.”
Slot added: “No. I think he came back with a lot of confidence from Copa America, he scored some good goals.
“Darwin always has confidence and he has every right to have this confidence, because everywhere he played he always scored goals.
“As a striker, sometimes you have a few games that you don’t score and all of a sudden you score a lot.
“As long as he brings his work rate in for the team and we bring him enough in positions, I’m 100 percent sure he or Diogo or one of the others will score his goals.”
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