New Liverpool boss Arne Slot can unlock Darwin Nunez's potential and make him the next Fernando Torres
05/24/2024 06:05 PM
Former Liverpool star Rickie Lambert has given Darwin Nunez some crucial advice that could see him become the new Fernando Torres.
Nunez cuts a marmite figure at Liverpool where some appreciate his chaos up front and others just want him to score more goals.
While the Uruguay international netted 18 times in all competitions, with 11 in the Premier League, there is undoubted talent there but he has been criticised for not scoring enough.
But not everyone has given up hope on the 24-year-old, including ex-Liverpool star Lambert, who believes he could be the club’s next Torres.
Speaking to Alan Brazil and Gabriel Agbonlahor on talkSPORT Breakfast, Lambert said: “I think as a fellow striker, I see the potential in him.
“I love him the way he is, if he stays the way he is, I love him. But I can see him being as powerful as Fernando Torres.
“That’s where I can see Nunez, we have got to stick with him.
“The next manager [Arne Slot] has got to get him on the training pitch and get him on repetition on shots, every angle, left foot, right foot.
“Within a few months or a year, those chances will start going in. His all-round game is already there.
“He can hold it up and he can get in behind. If a player at the top level can do that, you can’t let them go.
“If we let him go, without a doubt, he will turn into a world class player somewhere else.”
Slot will join as Liverpool’s next manager this summer to replace Jurgen Klopp.
One of his first tasks will be tapping into Nunez’s potential and forming him into a world-class striker, something Klopp might have got the former Benfica star on the path to, but will need finishing.
But Nunez will have his work cut out being mentioned in the same breath as Torres, who was one of the most electric strikers in recent memory at Anfield.
El Nino spent four years at Liverpool, where he scored 81 times in 142 appearances in all competitions, while it was his pace and skill that also terrified defenders.
Torres forged an almost telepathic connection with Steven Gerrard, with the two combining more often than not – Gerrard assisted Torres 14 times and Torres assisted Gerrard 10 times.
Slot has proved at Feyenoord he knows how to get the best out of attacking players with his Dutch side famed for their brilliant forward-thinking style, so Nunez’s future might be in the right hands.
