Darwin Nunez: Agent of chaos
Just a quick filler to take us through until tomorrow’s music night and rather than write a full match report, I thought I’d just look at what Darwin offers us.
Ok so he’s raw. Very at times, there’s no denying it but what a handful of a player he is. He pops up all over the pitch, from LB to RW but what we’re starting to see from him now, is the reason we signed him – his finishing ability. I remember watching him at Benfica and that was what stood out. He reminded me of Torres in as much as 9/10 times he tends to hit the target, be that from long or close range. His volley last night that forced the keeper into a fingertip save would have been a contender for goal of the season and he had another fine effort with his left foot that struck the post in the game. This comes after a very accomplished right foot finish against Arsenal and the excellent header he scored last night. In those terms, he’s got everything and it will only improve.
That’s not all he brings though. Much like Virgil, he’s deceivingly quick and last night clocked up the fastest run time in the PL this season at 38 kph. His work rate can’t be faulted, although as mentioned it can all be a bit chaotic at times. He presses and harries defenders, loves the physical battle and runs the channels brilliantly. I played CB myself in my younger days and I would have hated to be up against someone that quick and that strong.
There are faults to his game at the moment, we know that. His awareness of being offside needs a fair bit of work and for as much as his work rate is to be admired, we don’t really want to see him at LB too often but how do you defend against a player like that? I’m not sure he knows himself what he’s going to do next, so how can a defender read his game?
This will change of course, over time with Klopp and the coaching staff. We’re talking about the manager that gave the world a certain Lewandowski, so we know the manager has pedigree when it comes to identifying top strikers and turning them into the finished article. At the moment however, in what is turning into a fairly chaotic season as we transition from the old guard to the new, this agent of chaos is providing us with an unpredictability we were lacking at the start of the season and with 3 goals in his last 4 games, his goal scoring prowess is starting to come to the fore.
Klopp mentioned this week that Nunez has been suffering with homesickness – a reminder of how young he is and it’s been mentioned a few times, he seems to have a certain immaturity about him but after some early doubts, we’re starting to see the player we hoped we’d signed. His game will become a lot more polished over the next two seasons, he’ll find his place in our structure and his teammates will start to understand how best to utilise him. Until then however, just keep causing that chaos. Enjoy the ride!!
Recent Comments