Jurgen Klopp on Darwin Nunez: “Fifteen Goals is Absolutely Fine”

Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images

The manager pointed out that it’s very tough for a new striker to blend into a team that’s not clicking.

Darwin Nunez’s first season at Liverpool has seen him score fifteen goals across all competitions, and manager Jurgen Klopp believes that there is more to come from the young star.

”A lot more, that’s clear. He needs time to settle. The most difficult thing for a striker is coming into a team that’s not clicking”, said Klopp.

“That’s the most difficult thing, but then scoring 15 goals – imagine we would have had a normal season for us by our standards. A good season, a 70, 80 or more points season, he would have scored 20-odd goals, definitely. It’s like each situation we created, if you miss it it’s much more a highlight.”

Klopp pointed out that other strikers have also missed chances and that is a normal part of the game.

“Mo Salah in his best season with 40-odd goals missed chances. That’s normal. Erling Haaland missed chances, that’s how it is, but they had much more than we created in this period.”

Nunez needs time to settle in, and the club are ready to help him in whatever way is needed, according to Klopp.

“Fifteen goals is absolutely fine, [and there are] still three games to go so it’s possible he can increase that number as well, but we spoke about it – he needs time to adapt. He had that at Benfica as well and there was no language issue – or less of a language issue at least than here”, he said.

“We work on everything with him, that’s clear. We try to help him so he can help us even more than he did already.”