Darwin Nez is still adjusting to life at Liverpool, but despite his early struggles, he leads the Premier League in attacking sequence involvements.
Darwin Nez is an uncut diamond. He is a future star who is still developing at Anfield, and he is still finding his feet in the Premier League after moving from Portugal in the summer.
That is the narrative that surrounds Liverpool’s newest striker. Since his arrival from Benfica for a fee that could reach £85m, pundits and commentators have been keen to suggest that he’ll eventually come good, but it might take time.
While those suggestions might indeed prove to be true, people don’t seem to be realizing just how good he is already. Núñez has only started seven Premier League matches, but he’s made quite the impact when he’s been involved.
Despite supposedly finding his feet, the Uruguayan has scored the same amount of goals as Gabriel Jesus, even though he’s played less than half as many minutes as the Arsenal striker, who is regarded as one of the biggest hits of the summer transfer window.
Only one player in the whole of the Premier League is averaging higher expected goals and expected goals assisted than Núñez on a per-90 basis: Erling Haaland of Manchester City.
The South American has accumulated 39 shots in around 600 minutes of action for the Reds so far. Ivan Toney has 38 shots from 1,260 minutes. Son Heung-min has 36 shots from 1,026 minutes. Bukayo Saka has 28 shots from 1,170 minutes.
Klopp’s new man is already looking like a primed offensive weapon for opponents to worry about, with his tendency to be in among the danger perhaps epitomizing what he offers on the pitch.
So far this season, Kevin De Bruyne ranks at the top of the Premier League for attacking sequence involvements. He has amassed 95 involvements in open-play shot-ending sequences by either taking the shot himself, assisting the shot, or playing a part in the build-up to the shot.
In second is Bruno Fernandes, followed by Rodri, Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah, and Jesus. The metric effectively captures dangerous players and players who are heavily involved in their team’s offensive methods.
However, once adjusting for minutes played, a new player enters the fray. For attacking sequence involvements per 90 minutes, Núñez places at the summit, averaging marginally more than De Bruyne in second, who is followed by Rodri and Phil Foden.
It is no surprise that plenty of Manchester City players rank highly considering what Pep Guardiola’s outfit tends to produce in the final third, but with Premier League football now placed on pause due to the World Cup, a Liverpool man ranks at the top.
Núñez does indeed seem to be coming to terms with his new surroundings on English shores but even despite what he might eventually become, he’s already as dangerous as it gets when he’s on the field. As things continue to click into place for the striker, Jürgen Klopp will continue to benefit.
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