“The jury is out” – Ex-Liverpool forward delivers damning verdict on ‘desperate’ Darwin Nunez

Former Liverpool forward Dean Saunders remains unconvinced by the club's record signing Darwin Nunez following his poor display against Manchester City.

The 23-year-old arrived from Benfica in the summer, with many expecting him to fill the boots of club legend Sadio Mane, who joined Bayern Munich. However, after four goals in 11 games and a red card against Crystal Palace, supporters are unconvinced by the Uruguay international.

Nunez was brought on in the 72nd minute of the Reds' 1-0 victory over the Cityzens in the Premier League on October 16. However, his decision-making was heavily criticized by pundits.

His worst moment came when the Reds had a three-on-one attack against City. Nunez decided to shoot rather than play in Mohamed Salah, who was free and had already scored.

Darwin Nunez didn’t pass here… #LIVMCI https://t.co/sKARhEzau6

Speaking to TalkSPORT, Saunders was clearly unimpressed by Nunez's cameo as the former Wales international stated:

“My honest opinion of yesterday, he came on, got through and he’s got to slip the ball to Salah. He didn’t even see Salah. Salah has just scored as well, he’s got to give it to him. He shoots because he’s trying to get himself a goal."

He added:

“I know how he feels, he’s desperate to get off the mark at Liverpool. He then goes through at the end and tries to dink the goalkeeper. On the plus side, it looks like he can run. That’s my positive. The jury is out. Whether he can fit into the class football Liverpool play, whether he can fit into that. Hopefully he does.”

Darwin Nuñez had a 3 v 1 and somehow made the worst possible decision I’ve ever seen

Pundit backs Darwin Nunez to deliver for Liverpool

Despite Nunez's struggles this season, Alex McLeish has been impressed by the South American, especially for his excellent goal against Rangers in the UEFA Champions League.

The former Aston Villa and Scotland manager clearly has confidence in the striker, as he told Football Insider:

“His goal against Rangers was a top, instinctive finish. Youu see that from the best strikers. You don’t even think about it, you just stick the ball in the back of the net. We haven’t seen enough of that from him this season but if he can do more of that then you start to see why Liverpool paid all that money to get him in."

He added:

“For the money they spent, the goals need to come. I think we are at the point now where they will come. I think we could see him score a few in his next games just because of the confidence. He will always get chances in that team so if he can start converting even some of those chances then Liverpool have a real talent there.”

🇺🇾 Darwin Nunez - 4 goals in 498 minutes this season
🇧🇷 Gabriel Jesus - 5 goals in 828 minutes this season
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Marcus Rashford - 5 goals in 716 minutes this season
🇰🇷 Heung-min Son - 5 goals in 1,010 minutes this season

Give him time & he will deliver 👀🔴 https://t.co/2YJiDYNdBI