Paul Merson says he's worried about Liverpool star Darwin Nunez's link-up play

By Shamanth Jayaram

Paul Merson has claimed that there’s one thing about Liverpool star Darwin Nunez that’s really worrying.

The Uruguayan has had a difficult start to life in England. His red card against Crystal Palace just made things worse for him, but over the last few weeks, he seems to have come back to life.

Nunez has now scored six goals in all competitions – more than Arsenal superstar Gabriel Jesus (ESPN).

Paul Merson says he’s worried about Liverpool star Darwin Nunez’s link-up play

Nunez has been among the goals for Liverpool in recent weeks, but he has missed quite a few easy chances too. That’s not too much of a worry as strikers miss opportunities all the time, but Merson has noticed something else.

In the game against Manchester City at Anfield earlier this month, Liverpool surprised many by winning the game 1-0. However, they could’ve scored two or three more goals in the end if Nunez had elected to pass the ball to Mo Salah instead of having a pop at goal himself.

Merson believes Nunez’s link-up play is really worrying at this point. However, he has still backed the Uruguayan to be a huge hit at Liverpool in the coming months and years.

The pundit wrote in his column on Sportskeeda: “Darwin Nunez has been a bit stop-start this season, but I think he’ll be a success.

“My only worry is his link-up play – he didn’t even see Mohamed Salah’s run against Manchester City and when you play for a team like Liverpool, you need to be able to pick those passes.

“What I do like about him is that he doesn’t shy off. He missed a sitter the other day, but he still scored after that. It might take him some time, but he’ll come good for Liverpool.”

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The transition from the Portuguese top flight to the Premier League was never going to be easy for Nunez.

To add to that, the pressure of the price tag, his red card against Palace and his counterpart Erling Haaland tearing it up at Manchester City just haven’t helped either.

Nunez, however, seems to slowly be getting back to his best. He’s getting into the right areas, his movement off the ball is brilliant, and thankfully for Liverpool fans, he is scoring regularly now as well.

He will only get better in the coming weeks and months, and once he’s fully settled at Liverpool, we could see the best version of him.