2 weeks ago
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Michael Owen believes Darwin Nunez isn't good enough at finishing to continue his Liverpool career.
Nunez joined the Reds from Benfica three years ago, but he's failed to nail down a spot in the starting XI during that time. He's also failed to live up to his price tag; Liverpool agreed a deal worth up to £85 million ($113.6 million) with Benfica for the 26-year-old striker.
The Reds recently signed Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt and could yet bring in Alexander Isak from Newcastle. With Arne Slot revamping his front line, it's believed Nunez could leave Merseyside this summer, with teams in Italy and Saudi Arabia interested.
Owen, who came through the ranks at Liverpool before playing for the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester United, isn't convinced by Nunez's finishing. He believes it's time for his former employers to sell Nunez, especially if Isak arrives from Newcastle.
"If Liverpool gets Isak, it will have to bring in money, and I don't see Nunez staying," Owen told talkSPORT.
"Finishing is the hardest part of the game. The skills that he isn't the best at, those are the things you are taught as a kid at nine or 10 years old. I was working my finishing out when I was playing as a kid.
"He is absolutely brilliant in other situations on the pitch, but he looks like a player who has not had that repetition. I don't think he knows what to do when he gets himself in those positions."
Nunez has done OK at Liverpool, scoring 40 goals in 143 games in all competitions. The Uruguayan has also performed respectively in the Premier League, scoring 25 goals and providing 16 assists in 95 appearances.
Yet his disciplinary record isn't great, receiving 17 yellow cards and being sent off once in the Premier League, and his wastefulness in front of goal continues to frustrate Liverpool fans. He missed another big opportunity against Yokahoma F. Marinos in Liverpool's latest preseason game on Wednesday, which finished 3-1 to the Reds.
Nunez's worst season as a Liverpool player to date came last term under Slot, as he scored just seven goals in all competitions and made most of his 47 appearances from the bench.
This isn't the first time Owen has criticized Nunez. As quoted by the Liverpool ECHO, Owen said of Nunez earlier this year: "In Darwin Nunez's first season, I was 50/50 over whether he was going to be an incredible player or someone who is always going to be a frustrating player who could do more.
"There's a very good player, of course, but not somebody that's going to now be ranked among the world's elite strikers.
"It’s frustrating because you see parts of his game that you just think, wow, that's just incredible.
"But then you see parts of his game that you think, wow, that should have been taught to you when he was 10 or 12. That's the strange thing about his game."
English (US) ·