Following his impressive performance against Manchester City in the Community Shield, Darwin Nunez has been urged by Liverpool teammate Virgil Van Dijk to ‘focus on himself’ and not think about ‘what others have to say’.
Nunez sparked his Liverpool career to life on Saturday, scoring a goal and winning a penalty during the victory
Due to his high price tag, the 23 year-old would have no doubt been feeling the pressure in the big game.
But following his display, the Uruguayan will be feeling confident heading into the Premier League season.
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Liverpool defender Van Dijk had this to say about his new teammate.
“To score that goal was important, but for him it’s the same as it was for me; the transfer fee is not something you should think about. I don’t think he does,”
“He just has to keep his head down, work hard and be important for the club. I think he showed that.
“You see he is direct, he makes good runs in behind, he’s quick, he’s strong. I said it before, I think he’s a modern-day striker. Haaland is the same. They have similar attributes, and they are difficult to play against.”
Van Dijk joined the club in 2018 for a hefty £75 million, which could now be considered a bargain, and the Dutchman had some words of advice for Nunez following his big money move to the club.
“He has to not look at, for example, what all you guys say about him after a game! He has to just focus on himself, on the team, improve, get settled in as quickly as possible.”
"The only way to do that is to learn from training, learn from the games you play, and don’t look at what others have to say about you and your performances."
"That, for me, is the key to success. You can get distracted by all that.”
"It was a good start, but it’s only a start. Hopefully there will be many more times, and we are all confident. We play in a way that, as a striker, you do a lot of defending as well.”
“That’s something strikers have to learn. Bobby obviously mastered it and I think he’s one of the best ones in that position to do it.”
"For Darwin to learn from Bobby, but also bring his own qualities into the game with runs in behind, mixing it up, it’s good. He can mix it up, and he can defend from the front.”
Firmino has recently been linked with a move to Juventus, but with no replacement lined-up you would expect the Brazilian to stay at the club until next summer, when his contract is set to expire.
If Nunez can learn from Firmino and adopt parts of his game, you can expect the Uruguayan to tear up the Premier League for years to come.
Topics: Liverpool, Darwin Nunez
Will Beaman