"He is trying too hard at times" - Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler believes Reds star will not be able to reach the level that the club wants
Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler has criticized Darwin Nunez for overdoing it on the pitch. The Englishman believes Nunez needs to get back to basics and focus on finding the back of the net.
The Reds signed Nunez from Benfica in the summer of 2022 for a reported club-record £85 million fee. While he has been productive in front of goal for the Merseysiders since his arrival, Nunez has gained a reputation for being wasteful with his opportunities.
During an interview with the Echo, Fowler pointed out Nunez's flaws and offered him some advice on how to improve going forward. The former Liverpool striker said:
"The best goalscorers are the ones who do the monotony of doing the same thing over and over again. And this is like the second nature of the natural ability of goalscorers; if you're doing the same thing over and over then the game becomes easier."
"But if you're trying to do something different every time there's a ball then it looks unusual or unorthodox and I think that is maybe what he has been guilty of."
He added:
"He is trying too hard at times. Will he get to the level that we hope or think? I don't think that he will and that's not being a knock on him and I am not being derogatory because I would never do that, he is a Liverpool player and I want him to be the very best."
"But he just needs to go back to delivering what he was doing when he was younger, the basics I've seen and then not trying all the technically unbelievable, once-in-a-lifetime things. He does seem to think about things too much and I am not sure you can as a forward."
Darwin Nunez has scored 33 goals and 17 assists in 96 games since his arrival at Liverpool two years ago.
"Not everything has to be extraordinary" - Robbie Fowler urges Liverpool's Darwin Nunez to 'get back to basics'
Robbie Fowler insists that Nunez has to start scoring simple goals instead of trying to go overboard with his strikes on the pitch. The Englishman emphasized that the price tag should not influence the way Nunez finishes.
He said:
"He's got to get back to basics, start rolling balls in, it doesn't have to be immaculate. People think you've come in for £60m or £70m and people are expecting everything to be hitting the top corners. Sometimes, you've just got to roll them in to the corners... not everything has to be extraordinary."
Nunez registered 54 appearances across all competitions for Liverpool last season, scoring 18 goals and providing 13 assists. He ended the season as the club's second-top goalscorer behind Mohamed Salah.
The Merseysiders finished third in the Premier League table last term, seven points behind second-placed Arsenal and nine points behind champions Manchester City.