Liverpool striker Salah NOT Slot key to improving Nunez says pundit

Arne Slot was officially announced as Liverpool’s new head coach on Monday, signing an initial three-year deal and taking over from Jurgen Klopp. 

On the back of the club’s announcement of Slot, it was immediately suggested by The Times correspondent Paul Joyce that the 45-year-old Dutchman would be tasked with getting the best out of Darwin Nunez. 

Although it was mooted that the 24-year-old could be SOLD this summer, amid interest from Barcelona, it is now believed that Liverpool will persist with him long-term. 

Having signed from Benfica for a fee of up to £85 million and with a contract until 2028, Nunez will be difficult to remove from Anfield, particularly for a side with scant resources like Barca. 

That means improving his efficiency in front of goal. The Uruguay international scored 18 goals in 54 appearances across all competitions for Liverpool last season, a decent return, but lost his place in the lineup as the campaign drew to a close. 

Nunez wastefulness laid bare

Question marks were raised around Nunez’s finishing ability, with a number of high-quality chances passing him by as the Reds slipped out of contention for the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Europa League. 

Joyce wrote on Monday that ‘Liverpool are continuing to back’ Nunez throughout his toils in front of goal, stating that one of Slot’s responsibilities would be ‘to improve’ the former Almeria man. 

"Arne Slot has agreed a three year deal as new Liverpool head coach. One of his tasks will be to improve Darwin Nunez who Liverpool are continuing to back,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. 

Slot is renowned for improving his players, and Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez is a prime example of this. Slot turned the €6 million signing, who had never returned a double-digit goalscoring season, into a lethal poacher who has now scored 49 goals in just two seasons for Feyenoord.

Discussions were held this week on talkSPORT this week about whether Slot could do something similar with Nunez. 

It’s not something ex-striker Ally McCoist believes the new head coach can do, stating that Nunez had to simply look to his strike partners in training to figure out how to score more. 

Mohamed Salah has scored 211 goals in seven seasons at Anfield and is a player Nunez must look up to, says the Rangers goalscoring legend, who won two European Golden Shoe awards during his time at Ibrox. 

Look and learn warns McCoist

“It's a finishing issue with Nunez, his general all-round play is good, a little bit like [Nicolas] Jackson,” McCoist told talkSPORT.

“I don't think they’re the finished article in terms of their finishing. They both score a fair percentage of goals and both of them will improve in their level of finishing. 

“Nunez is a bit like Jackson in this respect, both of them snatch a little bit at their finishing. 

“But then if Nunez is in training all the time, working with somebody like Salah, you've got to watch, you’ve got to learn. I actually think he’ll learn more by watching some of his teammates, particularly Salah and the great finishers than from anyone else or from anywhere else. 

“That’s what I think, particularly with centre forwards.”