Arne Slot responds to question on getting the best out of Darwin Nunez – “Up to us”

The million-dollar question for Arne Slot at Liverpool is how to get the best out of Darwin Nunez in his third season at Anfield, with the head coach’s response clear.

Nunez heads into his third campaign at Liverpool with the same questions looming over him, having scored 33 goals in 96 Games so far for the club.

Though devastating at his clinical best, the Uruguayan has proved frustratingly inconsistent since joining from Benfica in 2022, missing the second-most big chances of any player in last season’s Premier League (27).

He had entered the transfer window with doubts over his future, but Slot has vowed to work with the No. 9 just like he did Santiago Gimenez at Feyenoord.

It is unlikely Nunez will start in the season opener at Ipswich on Saturday, with Diogo Jota established as first choice after pre-season, but in his pre-match press conference, Slot was asked how he plans to maximise his potential.

His response was simple: “Bring him as much as we can into scoring positions.”

“But again, I think every individual benefits from team performance,” the head coach continued.

“If we, as a team, can bring our attackers – not only him, but also the other ones – as much as we can into dangerous positions, these players will score goals.

“That’s also what we’ve seen in pre-season, where we even scored goals out of smaller chances.

“So it’s up to us to bring him, or Diogo or other attackers, as much as we can into promising positions for them.

“And then he, like all the others, will score the goals.”

At face value, that seems as though Slot plans to use Nunez in a more straightforward role than perhaps seen under Jurgen Klopp.

In Klopp’s system, the 25-year-old seemed something of an ill fit, lacking the off-ball nous to press defenders effectively as well as linking up with his team-mates.

Nunez is more of an out-and-out striker who thrives when running onto passes, which could certainly suit Slot’s ‘up, back and through’ pattern of attacking play.

Jota is rightly expected to start against Ipswich, but it is unlikely to be long before Nunez is called into action by his new head coach – and there will be real intrigue as to how he performs.