Darwin Nunez has the potential to emulate scoring machine Robert Lewandowski but needs to develop more composure in front of goal, according to Jurgen Klopp.
The Uruguay striker has a respectable tally of nine in all competitions since his club record move to Liverpool from Benfica last summer but that number could have been much higher.
Nunez missed a string of chances in Liverpool’s 3-1 win at Aston Villa and Klopp has spoken to him about being calmer when presented with a scoring opportunity.
It’s hard to believe now but Klopp says Lewandowski lacked a clinical streak when he signed him for Borussia Dortmund in 2010 – the Poland star managed only eight in his first season in the Bundesliga before he took off – and Nunez could follow a similar career path.
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“It’s all about staying calm. When you see the potential, stay calm. I think we all agree that the potential [in Nunez] is so obvious. Yes. Is everything right? No – but it is all coming. I had this situation with Lewi but it is not only Lewi. He is the obvious comparison.
“I saw so many top-class strikers in moments where the world was judging them and thought, ‘I am not sure that will happen again.’ If you have quality and the right attitude, everything will be fine – and that’s the case with Darwin.
“If a striker doesn’t have chances that’s a real problem, if he doesn’t get into situations, that’s a problem. You can sort that, but it’s much more difficult. The rest, you get in situations, you gain experience in the same situation, you come into the same situation again, you know what you did last time so you do it slightly different. That all comes with time.
“We are in constant conversation about this [staying calm] but in the right manner and not pointing the finger and saying, ‘Here you have to finish like that, here you have to finish that…’
“He is an exceptional talent and it will come.”
Klopp also says Liverpool had a “home run” in the Cody Gakpo transfer deal because the rising Holland star only wanted to join them.
He claimes Merseyside club didn’t even need Gakpo’s Dutch team-mate Virgil Van Dijk to have a word in the winger’s ear to convince him that Anfield was the best destination for him.
Manchester United and several other Premier League clubs had shown keen interest but the 23-year-old had already made up his mind on his £37m move from PSV Eindhoven even before speaking to Klopp.
“We didn’t tell Virgil to talk to him because there was no reason,” said Klopp. “When I was allowed to speak to him [by PSV] it was one of those nice moments when you are manager of Liverpool FC.
“You think you have to convince a player to sign and then you realise when you speak to them that the door is wide open, it is more or less a home run. And that’s cool.
“So we didn’t need Virgil to convince him but after that from a specific moment Virgil – who likes to be involved in these kind of things – had his say as well so it’s all good.”
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Klopp is delighted that Liverpool moved quickly for a hugely talented and flexible player – who can play in all four forward positions – before he was priced out of their range.
Long-term injuries to Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota, plus Gakpo’s impressive performances in the World Cup where he scored in all three group games for the Dutch, added urgency to get the deal done now rather than next summer.
“He is a young player with a lot of potential,” he added. “If he would have already been scoring 40 goals in Spain or whatever he would be un-affordable.
“With these kind of things, it’s all about timing, getting these boys at the right moment – that they didn’t already score 55 goals per season and stuff like this. That’s why we were really convinced.
“He could always make the next step, and that makes it interesting. We believe in our process, when players come here – especially offensive players – they have all made a step forward because of the way we work and the way we can help them. That makes it massively interesting.
“He can play in all four positions in attack. He will probably say his favourite is off the left wing in a 4-3-3 but he is still very young and for us, we think we can use him in any of those.”
Gakpo is ineligible for Friday’s home game with Leicester because he will officially not become a Liverpool player until the start of the January transfer window.
He could be on the bench for the trip to Brentford on Monday but is more likely to be given a week’s training with his new team-mates to help him settle in and be involved for the first time in the FA Cup third round home tie against Wolves on 7 January.
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