Following the departure of Sadio Mané, Darwin Nuñez has an almighty task on his hands to replace the Senegal international.
But a man who knows a thing or two about scoring goals in England is backing him to succeed.
That man is Alan Shearer. Speaking to Sky Sports, the Premier League’s all-time top goal scorer has revealed that he is “certain” Darwin Nuñez will “score a lot of goals."
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There have been some concerns raised about Nuñez since his big-money arrival from Benfica. Some question how easy it’ll be for the Uruguayan to acclimatise to the English top flight.
The Primeira Liga, Portugal’s top football division, is fast developing into one of Europe’s better football leagues.
The sheer scale of top talent coming out of the league is indicative of that. But the Premier league is still a big step up for players coming from Portugal.
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Liverpool fans will find comfort in what they themselves saw of Nuñez last season.
In a 3-3 draw at Anfield, Nuñez terrorised Liverpool’s backline all evening before equalising for the Portugease outfit late on in a Champions League quarter final second leg.
Nuñez was also the only Benfica scorer on the night of the first leg, a game which Liverpool won 3-1 on the night.
So, Nuñez doesn’t arrive at Liverpool without any experience on the biggest stage. However, this will be the first season of his career which sees him face truly high calibre opposition on a weekly basis.
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However, as Shearer notes, The Uruguayan is a “huge” signing for Liverpool. There’s a reason why such clamour surrounds the deal. It was time for Nuñez to test himself in a tougher league after a tremendous season in Portugal.
The toughest challenge the forward will face will be whether he can hit the ground running.
Off the back of a season where he scored 34 goals across domestic competition and the Champions League, the 23-year-old does have form on his side.
But playing on the biggest stage for one of the biggest clubs in the world can do funny things to players. Liverpool fans will be hoping the pressure invigorates Nuñez
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Topics: Alan Shearer, Liverpool Transfer News & Rumours, Liverpool