Jurgen Klopp says he's 'afraid' of Darwin Nuñez's potential

Jurgen Klopp has praised the development of Darwin Nuñez, while admitting the striker's first year at Liverpool was 'hard' due to communication issues.

Handed the number nine shirt ahead of the new campaign, Nuñez has been one of the Reds' best performing players in 2023/24, scoring seven times to date – including a stunning winner to beat Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup last 16 on Wednesday.

The Uruguayan's form has been one of the positives of the season, after the striker – who arrived as Liverpool's record signing – endured a tricky first year at the club.

Though Nuñez still bagged 15 goals in all competitions, he struggled with form and fitness as the Reds failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 2016.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday's trip to Luton Town, Klopp revealed that Nuñez now feels more settled on Merseyside after his initial struggles, with language no longer a barrier.

"The first year was hard for him," Klopp admitted. "And hard for me as well because you see this incredible talent, with massive potential, but it's difficult to unfold it, because I'm a manager who needs contact to help a player.

"It can speed up the process by talking a lot with a player. I was not able to do that because I don't Spanish and he didn't speak English.

"His English is now much better – my Spanish is still not. But he's settled in the team, when you see him around in the building everything is different. He's in a very good moment, and this is still only the start for him of course."

The Liverpool boss went on to add that the forward, who is still only 24, has so much potential that it is frightening.

"I'm a bit afraid of the highs he could reach, because there's so much here, it's crazy," Klopp said. "But now we've found a real starting moment and let's work from here."