'Unfortunately': Steve Nicol says £85m Liverpool player is really struggling and looks lost
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Liverpool brushed aside Bologna 2-0 in their second UEFA Champions League group-stage game of the season thanks to goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Mohamed Salah.
The Reds weren’t anywhere close to their best but Bologna were comfortably dispatched at Anfield as Arne Slot made it eight wins from his first nine games as Liverpool boss.
Things are looking good for the Reds across all competitions and most of their big players are firing on all cylinders.
However, one player who has endured a rather lukewarm start to his season is Darwin Nunez, who has scored just once under the new manager so far.
He earned himself a rare start against Bologna and flattered to deceive as he failed to get his name on the scoresheet to cap off a frustrating display.
And Steve Nicol feels the Uruguayan striker is really struggling at the moment as he fired yet another blank against the Serie A side.
Steve Nicol says Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez looks ‘lost’
Startling alongside Salah and Luis Diaz in attack, Nunez showed a lot of energy but was flagged offside a lot of times, while he was also guilty of choosing the wrong option in the final third more often than not.
Nicol feels the 25-year-old is really struggling to make an impression despite having bags of potential as he looks a bit jaded mentally.
"I'm afraid Mr Nunez looks a little lost,” said Nicol on ESPN UK’s YouTube channel after the game.
Read More: Fabrizio Romano shares what Darwin Nunez privately thinks about Liverpool boss Arne Slot
“He got substituted for Jota. It's just the mental side of the game. He's got all the attributes.
“If they have someone who can sit and talk to him, keep reassuring him and all those things but at the end of the day, most of it comes down to the player himself.
“Unfortunately right now, he can't get out of his own way. The harder it gets, the less you see. When you're struggling, the blinkers come on and all of a sudden, everything gets difficult.”
Nunez running out of time to save his Liverpool career
Signed for a fee believed to be in the region of £85m including add-ons in the summer of 2022, Nunez hasn’t managed to nail down a starting spot at the club after two full seasons.
Read More: Jamie Carragher says Arne Slot has to coach a big problem out of £64m Liverpool player
He has shown flashes of brilliance but hasn’t produced the goods consistently for Liverpool, which is turning out to be a bit of a problem.
Nunez is likely to get a full season under Slot to prove his worth but if things don’t change in the coming months, Liverpool could cut their losses and offload him in the summer of 2025.
