I believe Højlund to be a very well rounded striker actually, so no I certainly wouldn't trade. Nunez has his uses though and is perhaps the profile of player I would like us to sign as competition for Højlund. Just not for the insane fee that you guys paid.
Darwin Núñez | Liverpool player | Sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe shish
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Højlund is probably a better pure striker but probably a less effective forward overall. Nunez is creative based on his high G/A numbers.
£65m is about right I’d say. If the add-ons come - up to £85m I think - then it means Liverpool have been successful so it works itself out. I wouldn’t call it insane when you take into account Chelsea and United’s outlays on poor footballers over the past few seasons.
I wouldn't say that Højlund is less effective. He has a lot more to his game than just goals.
His work rate and application in the game is admirable, and those tend to be big factors when you're playing under Klopp. He does emphasize on those characteristics alot with his teams and if you can couple that with a good amount of ability he and the club tend to be onto a winner.
I think Nunez has largely done well in this campaign. Granted last year I viewed him as abit of a comedy, especially his lack of composure at times, which he still needs to improve upon.
Be interesting to see how influential he'll become post Klopp. I don't think he'll ever be a goalscorer who'll be producing big numbers, though he may have a single campaign where it just clicks for him.
I think Nunez has largely done well in this campaign. Granted last year I viewed him as abit of a comedy, especially his lack of composure at times, which he still needs to improve upon.
Be interesting to see how influential he'll become post Klopp. I don't think he'll ever be a goalscorer who'll be producing big numbers, though he may have a single campaign where it just clicks for him.
I agree, but hasn’t shown it in the league to the extent that Nunez has. At the moment, Nunez is probably a better forward.
I'd prefer a fee of £40m max. That's the type of fee I'd be looking to spend on a player to compete with Højlund.
I think Højlund is just playing in a much worse side. His numbers would be much better at a title challenging side. Someone posted a compilation recently of his work outside of goalscoring. Was impressive.
I do rate him.
The problem for us is that we don't have the options you guys have. There's a lot less responsibility on Nunez. It's a blessing that Højlund isn't afforded, even though Rashford should be the one doing the heavy lifting.
Yous won the West Ham, Bournemouth and Burnley games by more than a single goal.
He really needs to start doing something against the decent sides before people sit up and take notice. Next week for example. Teams he's scored against this season.
LASK
Toulouse
Newcastle x 2
West Ham
Nottingham Forest
Burnley
Bournemouth x 2
Burnley
Brentford
Nottingham Forest
Norwich
Bournemouth
There's a lot of rubbish there
He is a good player despite the comedy moments. Like young Cavani before him he puts massive pressure on the defense with his movement and physicality, just keeps going and forcing the opposition to work hard to stop him. Had a pretty solid season.
Really he is another example of how dumb and toxic football meme culture is. Donkey Darwin, we will keep pretending it is accurate even when it is not.
Really he is another example of how dumb and toxic football meme culture is. Donkey Darwin, we will keep pretending it is accurate even when it is not.
Those matches were the go ahead goals
Newcastle down to ten men. Losing late on he comes and puts it to bed
Yesterday put to bed
His goals are the ones that put us ahead. That what he does
He's got 9 goals and 4 assists in 12 games in 2024 so far. 9 Starts and two of those games he was hooked halfway through.
iIn really good form lately.
iIn really good form lately.
Yep. In a decent title challenging side he could evolve into a 20+ (maybe 25+) goals a season striker in the league alone, and 10+ assists. He's young, clearly motivated and has the work rate, but I fear he'll get pissed off and lose some of that if we continue playing this shit anti-football next season.
Nunez is having a purple patch TBF. He's got his haters and his form might not last, but you have to give him credit at the mo.
And that's how every Hoijlund v Nunez discussion is laid out on Redcafe, ladies and gentlemen.
The last 2 goals showed supreme confidence from a CF.
Defenders : you can't possibly score from there, can't you?
Darwin : watch this.
Defenders : feck!
Goalie : block goddammit!!!
It's hard not to like the lad; Hoijlund gives off similar vibes tbh.
Both work hard and display team-player attitude.
Defenders : you can't possibly score from there, can't you?
Darwin : watch this.
Defenders : feck!
Goalie : block goddammit!!!
It's hard not to like the lad; Hoijlund gives off similar vibes tbh.
Both work hard and display team-player attitude.
I think we have to take off our red tinted glasses (our shade of red at least) and appreciate that he's a class player and a team player above all - and yeah Hojlund vibes for me too, I would rather have him here with his inconsistent first season than Rashford (not using this thread to have a go at Rashford or anything, I just prefer the profile of player that Nunez is).
I do agree. The only argument against that is that in years gone by, we typically raised our game against the likes of United, City, Arsenal etc. but struggled against the 'low-block' defensive minded teams. If we have a striker that seems to do well against those teams, a number of which look to be on your list, then it doesn't work out too badly. I would imagine that in an ideal world, Klopp wouldn't have started him against City this weekend, going with Salah, Jota and Diaz instead, before throwing him on against tired legs.
Saw the highlights, that goalie was shite.
It's probably worth reminding people that Nunez has a goal involvement every 65. minute for Liverpool. I'm sober enough to see that Nunez has very good movement especially vs a low block, he gets more big chances than what comes naturally playing for Liverpool, and will naturally also miss a lot of chances nominally because of this even if his finishing improves. You can't miss chances you are not getting. That's one of many reasons I have always disliked that big chances missed stat which is not adjusted for big chances not missed or anything else. Because then it's mostly a reflection of the team's quality/strikers movement instead of finishing/conversion. Sure, there is a gap when it comes to finishing among premier league strikers, but not so big that the best strikers will miss fewer chances nominally than the average starting strikers in the league. It would be insane to expect that.
The reason why Erling Haaland has the best goal-to-game ratio in the Champions League/European Cup 70 years history is not because his finishing was better than anyone else of course. His finishing is not insignificant, but it's the movement and positioning that is generational for a striker, leading to him getting a lot of chances even for Norway, having a goal every 88 minutes on the pitch for them. Darwin is already one of the top 3 in the league when it comes to movement imo, and better than many people think he is because of a hyperfocus on finishing IMO. His goal involvements per minute are more than acceptable.
The reason why Erling Haaland has the best goal-to-game ratio in the Champions League/European Cup 70 years history is not because his finishing was better than anyone else of course. His finishing is not insignificant, but it's the movement and positioning that is generational for a striker, leading to him getting a lot of chances even for Norway, having a goal every 88 minutes on the pitch for them. Darwin is already one of the top 3 in the league when it comes to movement imo, and better than many people think he is because of a hyperfocus on finishing IMO. His goal involvements per minute are more than acceptable.
Flat track bullies are an essential ingredient to do well. Most games are against such sides.
Liverpool have Salah as well, who has great numbers against top sides. Nunez is doing great in a side full of goals so isn’t operating with high stakes. That’s a very healthy environment for a player to find his feet - which Núñez is definitely doing.
Why are they compared against each other? Is it because of similar transfer fee? Based on stats Højlund has much higher conversion rate % than Nunez though.And that's how every Hoijlund v Nunez discussion is laid out on Redcafe, ladies and gentlemen.
Don't disagree, I'm just pointing out that he is a flat track bully at the minute and if Salah moves on he will have to step up to the plate against decent sides
But Nunez is still using less time per goal involvement, for a more dominant team, yes. But they are quite similar on the stats that matter more than conversion rate.
If this hyperfocus on conversion rate and finishing would make sense then Antonio di Natale would have been perhaps the sickest striker in history. Having had the best conversion rate among the top 5 leagues in 2 different seasons, being the only known player to score on 9 shots in a row, etc. But in reality, there are a lot of other things going on, like the ability to maximize the amount of big chances you get with movement, where he was below average.
Tend to agree. I want to see Nunez do it on Sunday against City.
Glad it's not just me. That first goal he literally dived out of the way of the ball for some reason.
That was my first impression, but camera angle from behind the goal showed otherwise.
The goalie might have been a fraction of a second late because his view was obstructed by the defenders the instance the shot being taken.
Once he caught on and committed to his left, the ball swerved wildly to the right.
The shot carried some power and dip too.
I think it was a great shooting technique, disguising your shot with defenders body.
A pro striker can execute this kind of shot quite comfortably when he is on form/in confident mood which Darwin apparently is.
Likewise, a shot through the legs etc.
I'd blame the defender for second goal; he shouldn't have allowed the ball to bounce twice and Darwin taking a shot.
The goal is 7 metre plus wide and the shot wasn't taken from an acute angle so there was ample room to aim.
At a bare minimum, a block attempt is mandatory.
I played mostly as CB and I had my fair share of being shouted at by my goalie if I don't attempt to screen a shot.
Yep it's common sense football too. You always block half the shot at least. The half that's going to the far post because no goalie worth his salt is going to leave his near post exposed and that's where you want the shot going.
Edit: I know Sparta were champions in their country but they are such a naive and quite honestly rubbish team. Sure they created loads of chances but everyone knew they'd miss most of them on account of being rubbish. Keeping, naive. Defending, naive. Tactics, naive.
Edit: I know Sparta were champions in their country but they are such a naive and quite honestly rubbish team. Sure they created loads of chances but everyone knew they'd miss most of them on account of being rubbish. Keeping, naive. Defending, naive. Tactics, naive.
Don't think he's anywhere near good enough to lead Liverpool in the post Salah era.
He'll score 10-15 in a season purely for getting into decent positions in the box but his overall play is far far too erratic in the key games. Not just the bad pass for 3-3 but he's caught offside constantly which kills plenty of attacks.
People underestimating what a unique player Salah will be to replace as Gakpo is a very average player indeed and Diaz is exciting but has his days when he takes far too many touches on the ball and attacks fizzle out.
Think they drop down a few places in the league purely on no more Salah.
He'll score 10-15 in a season purely for getting into decent positions in the box but his overall play is far far too erratic in the key games. Not just the bad pass for 3-3 but he's caught offside constantly which kills plenty of attacks.
People underestimating what a unique player Salah will be to replace as Gakpo is a very average player indeed and Diaz is exciting but has his days when he takes far too many touches on the ball and attacks fizzle out.
Think they drop down a few places in the league purely on no more Salah.
Great assist for the Rashford goal.
Flat track bully, West Ham still the best team he's scored against this season
Flat track bully, West Ham still the best team he's scored against this season
Ruined a great chance to kill the tie and then set up our equaliser. A great shift 
Non existent today.
Once a donkey, always a donkey. Cheers for the assist.
Got two assists today (plus 1 for Utd).
Gakpo is the real problem for Liverpool, he's atrocious.
Gakpo is the real problem for Liverpool, he's atrocious.
Weird game. Two assists but didn’t think he played brilliantly. Struggles a lot against better sides. Reminds me of a weaker version of 12/13 Suarez. He’s improved a lot this season though.
Gakpo was atrocious when he came on.
Gakpo was atrocious when he came on.
Yes Gakpo is even more below par. He's more Fulham or Wolves standard imo (no disrespect as they're having decent seasons but essentially mid table teams).
Diaz is the next best but end product is an issue for him in the bigger games. Jota is pretty good with productivity but loads and loads of injuries in last 18 months. Then you have Harvey Elliott who has potential but simply dosen't start enough games to get that sharpness.
Without Salah they're dropping next season regardless of who is managing them.
Caused Varane some problems today with his physicality. Thought he played well.
I don't watch him much but during that game he reminded me of a sort of poor man's Lukaku, great assist for Rashy though.