Arne Slot has expressed strong confidence in Darwin Nunez, highlighting the areas where the striker can improve following a challenging start to the season.
Since Slot succeeded Jurgen Klopp as manager at Anfield this summer, Nunez has made only four substitute appearances, with Diogo Jota often favoured as the central striker.
Counting the end of last season, the Uruguayan international has started just one of Liverpool’s last 12 matches, managing to score only once since his dramatic late winner against Nottingham Forest in early March.
However, Slot is confident that, despite Nunez’s limited minutes, the busy fixture schedule will provide him opportunities to prove himself and secure a regular starting position in the coming weeks.
Nunez, for instance, featured in the final quarter of Liverpool’s Champions League victory over AC Milan on Tuesday.
“It’s always difficult because players but also media only think you have confidence in a player if you play him,” said the Liverpool head coach.
“We have confidence in all of them, otherwise you don’t bring a player in if you’re 3-1 up (at Milan) about half-an-hour before the end or last week against Nottingham Forest (when) he came on for the last half-an-hour.
“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.”
“I think it comes to what do you have to do when we have the ball and when we don’t have the ball, and fit his own characteristics into that,” added Slot.
“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.
“We have shown him videos.
“Not only him, our staff is working a lot with videos, with individuals and that is about team orientation, where to position himself when we have the ball, when we don’t have the ball.
“So this is what we show them a lot, and then how he can bring the best out of his own qualities compared to the other players we have.
“They all have their own characteristics.
“So we play with Mo or with Lucho or with Federico or with Cody, it’s always a bit different where you have to position yourself.”
On the differences between Jota and Nunez, Slot said: “I think Diogo is a bit more a striker that can also go into the midfield and play as a false nine or a nine-and-a-half, where Darwin is more the target man that finishes off a good attack.
“There’s not one type I prefer.
“It always depends. I like to play a certain style of football, high pressing, dominating, creating as much chances as we can, scoring a lot of goals, not conceding a lot – I think that goes for every manager!
“We want to have the ball a lot.”
Arne Slot referenced Santiago Gimenez’s experience at Feyenoord, noting that the Mexican international striker scored only twice during the first half of the Dutch league season upon his arrival two years ago, but he went on to net 26 goals in 41 appearances across all competitions last season.
“Santiago is a nice example of him scoring a lot of goals, but if you look back at the amount of minutes he had in the first half of the season when I arrived, it wasn’t that much,” said the Liverpool head coach.
“It took him some to adjust to the intense playing style of what we want from him, and then at a certain moment his goals came.
“If you look back at my whole period at Feyenoord, the forwards all scored their goals.
“That’s what we saw a few days ago with Cody, it doesn’t matter that much who is playing, it’s about the team that creates the chances and these individuals will always score goals.”
Read more: Full Liverpool squad to face Bournemouth
Erik ten Hag sends warning to Marcus Rashford over party lifestyle
Arne Slot makes Ryan Gravenberch Liverpool claim after missing out on Martin Zubimendi
Thank you for your sharing. I am worried that I lack creative ideas. It is your article that makes me full of hope. Thank you. But, I have a question, can you help me?