'He's the one': Jay Spearing says Liverpool now have a 'player for big occasions' who's just like Divock Origi

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Darwin Nunez’s stock as a Liverpool player has never been higher after the striker’s performance on Saturday against Brentford.

The Uruguay international scored a stoppage-time brace as Nunez made Premier League history with his two late goals for Liverpool, with the result sending the Reds six points clear at the top of the standings with Arsenal drawing at home to Aston Villa.

With Alan Shearer ‘pleased’ to see Nunez starting for Liverpool against LOSC Lille this week, the 25-year-old attacker will want to use his match-winning performance on Saturday to fuel him going into upcoming Premier League games against Ipswich Town and AFC Bournemouth.

And for former Liverpool midfielder Jay Spearing, the pundit has shared what he’s now seen from Nunez’s game that reminds him of Anfield legend Divock Origi.

READ MORE: Everything to know on Liverpool's Darwin Nunez from his wife to net worth

Nunez’s ‘big moments’ for Liverpool similar to Origi’s

Speaking to Liverpool’s official YouTube channel before last night’s game against Lille, Spearing noted how Nunez has established himself as a big-game player for the Reds having helped the Merseyside giants to numerous big wins across the years by turning up at the right time in the final third.

With Arne Slot challenging Nunez to be more consistent, though, the striker will want to take that advice on board, especially with Spearing now comparing the forward to Origi, with the pundit saying when asked about the Uruguayan man and the Anfield icon: “You can see the comparisons between the two.

“The goals they score when they come onto the pitch are important ones, in the Premier League he’s the one to score the ones that turn into winners, so he’s a player for big occasions and big moments when someone needs to step up and get that winning goal and change the game.

“He can come off and changes games massively because he is that sort of player who can come on and cause carnage, he runs in behind, he wins headers, he leaves challenges on defenders, to see someone like Nunez come on late on you must be thinking: ‘Oh no,’ that’s the last thing they want to see, he’s an impact player when he comes on.”

How do Nunez and Origi compare for Liverpool?

Origi has a special place in the hearts of every Liverpool fan after the striker’s heroics in the 2018/19 run to the UEFA Champions League title, with the Belgian international’s brace against FC Barcelona part of Anfield folklore.

Yet when comparing Nunez and Origi’s stats from their first three full seasons at Liverpool, it’s the Uruguay international who comes out way on top compared to his Belgian counterpart, with the former Benfica man scoring goals and registering more assists.

However, with Nunez costing the Reds £65m and Origi now branded by Liverpool fans as a legend having arrived from Lille as an unknown, a case can be made that the now 29-year-old striker was the better signing for the Reds, especially with how important the forward came to be in his final years at Anfield.