"A handful" - "A menace" - Gary Neville heaps praise on expensive Liverpool player

Former Manchester United star Gary Neville has delivered his verdict on Liverpool's Darwin Nuñez.

The Uruguayan has already managed to bag himself 2 goals in competitive contests for the Reds.

He opened his account against Manchester City in the Community Shield final, making sure of Liverpool’s victory with an injury time header.

And on Saturday, in the Premier League against Fulham, he prodded home a Mohamed Salah cross shortly after being introduced as a substitute.

Speaking on The Gary Neville Podcast, the pundit voiced his praise for the forward.

“Nuñez is handful, he is a menace, when he came on, he was a menace and a handful, and he was very good.”

Reds fans are hoping that the 23-year-old is rewarded for his strong form off the bench for Liverpool and makes his first start in a competitive fixture for the Anfield club against Crystal Palace this weekend.

Roberto Firmino will be a useful centre-forward option to have in the squad this season, but it is widely anticipated Nuñez will take his spot sooner rather than later.

And the former Benfica man will be desperate for opportunities to play games from the start as he seeks to challenge the likes of Erling Haaland and Harry Kane for the golden boot this season.

Haaland oozed class for Manchester City on Sunday as he scored both goals in Pep Guardiola’s side’s 2-0 victory over West Ham.

Kane meanwhile failed to score against Southampton during Spurs’ 4-1 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, but his first Premier League goal of the season will inevitably arrive soon.

For Nuñez to keep up with those two, he needs to be starting games.

And as Neville suggested in his podcast, Nuñez has the quality to be Liverpool’s main man up top this season.