'Amazing' Nunez will prove his worth, says Liverpool legend John Barnes

It was never going to be easy for Darwin Nunez when he arrived at Liverpool last summer. 

Having arrived at Merseyside for a whopping £85 million, expectations were understandably high, and many had even compared him to Erling Haaland, who signed for rivals Manchester City in the same transfer window. 

When the Uruguayan scored for Liverpool as the Reds beat City in the Community Shield, it seemed like he was set for a stellar year. 

In the end, he racked up just nine goals in his debut season, and when he started only three of Liverpool’s final 12 games, pundits had already made up their mind in labelling him a flop. 

Liverpool legend John Barnes begs to differ though.

Speaking to TNP on the sidelines of the Singapore Festival of Football, the 59-year-old said he was impressed with the striker’s performances – which he pointed out came during a time when the team were going through a rough patch. 

“I thought he was amazing, because it's difficult for a young player coming from a different culture into a team that's not playing consistently well,” he said.

“But I thought he was one of our better players throughout the period of inconsistency. He showed energy, commitment, and the fans loved him because he always gave 100 per cent. 

“Of course, people expected so much, but I don't think he was worse than anybody else.” 

If recent performances in pre-season are anything to go by, Barnes is probably calling this one right. 

So far, the Uruguayan has made three 45-minute appearances and delivered a total of five goal contributions – four goals and one assist.

Yet, his place in the starting XI is far from guaranteed, what with an abundance of talent up front for the Reds in the form of Mo Salah, Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Diego Jota. 

Barnes, who won every domestic honour and played 407 times for the Reds from 1987 to 1997, believes his former team will improve on their disappointing fifth-place finish last term. 

While he’s excited by the arrivals of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai to bolster the midfield, it’s up front where things look rather resplendent. 

His preferred front three? Barnes, a skillful winger and fan favourite in his day, simply couldn’t say.

“I suppose three, four and five years ago, it was Salah, (Sadio) Mane, and (Roberto) Firmino. Now of course, Salah is the number one. But as far as the others go, you can't make a mistake. 

“I don't think anybody apart from Salah has staked a claim to say, ‘I'm going to be the number one’, but for Jurgen Klopp there's not a wrong decision to be made because the other four are fantastic players.  

“And depending on what game you're playing, and how you want to play, I'm sure he'll mix and match.”

Barnes’s last game for Liverpool might have been some 26 years ago, when the game was saliently different. But he’d tell you that if he was a player today, he’d love to work under a manager like Klopp. 

“Because not only does he love his players, he is very similar in terms of the philosophy I have – that the team is the most important thing, not any individual superstar,” said Barnes, who notched 79 caps for England. 

“The fans will always put some players up over others. In the early 80s, they would put Ian Rush and Kenny Dalglish over Sammy Lee and Alan Kennedy. But those players never saw themselves as more important than their teammates. It was the same for me when I played for Liverpool.

“But in terms of the love Klopp shows his players and the respect he shows them, you know, every player loves a manager like that. He's a great man manager. Even when you're not playing in the team, he still keeps you involved and makes you feel important.”