Arne Slot has given failed striker Darwin Nunez a major vote of confidence, saying it is a 'matter of time' before the Uruguayan clicks into gear at Liverpool.
The Reds head coach believes Nunez, who has scored just three goals all season, is 'trying too hard' to please the fans in front of goal, but has backed the £85million man to overcome his problems to leave behind in the coming months.
Nunez's problem is that he has failed to capitalize on his opportunities in the two months that compatriot number 9 Diogo Jota has missed through injury. The Portuguese is now back and is likely to be on the bench on Saturday, while Luis Diaz has also proven his talent as a player through the middle.
“Darwin has already shown that he is a goalscorer,” said Slot. 'He is capable of that. I think it's just a matter of time before he scores. But he competes with Luis, who can also play as number 9, and Diogo.
'For me he has an impact. If you just look at goals, he hasn't scored the number of goals he wants to score – or we want our number 9 to score – but he has an influence on his work rate. When we lose the ball, he is aggressive to get the ball back and still create chances.
'He's part of a team that scores a lot of goals and wins a lot, but as a No. 9 you obviously want to score more goals and that's certainly what he wants too. But so far I don't judge Mo (Salah) just by his goals, I don't judge Darwin just by his goals.
“Maybe it's because the fans support him so much, maybe he wants it too much to score that goal for himself and also for the fans because they supported him a lot.”
Nunez has faced criticism from fans in recent weeks, posting a comment on Instagram on Wednesday that read “resiliencia” (translates as “resilience” in English) and “they're not all, they're some – thanks for your support, Reds . '
And Slot added: 'The fans have a lot of love for him, I heard something about criticism on social media, but he won't be the first player to be criticized on social media! That's what happens when you miss one or two opportunities.
'If we had lost the match (Wednesday against Girona) it would have been that my substitutions or formation were not right… that's what social media is all about! If you win it's all great, if you lose it's all shit!'
Slot acknowledges that Nunez needs an arm around the shoulder in terms of confidence during these difficult times, but has told the 25-year-old Uruguayan that he will be judged on overall performance and not just his finishing.
“Ideally he would have scored a few more goals,” the Dutch boss continued. 'Maybe in a few weeks you will ask me if Mo stops scoring and Darwin scores one goal after another. It's the life of a number 9, sometimes you score, sometimes you don't.
'But what must always be there is work rate and that is what he has, apart from two games: against Las Palmas (a friendly) and the last half hour against Girona were not at the level he should have. That had a lot to do with him being disappointed because he missed a few opportunities.”
Jota is expected to be on the bench against Fulham after completing a full week of training, while summer signing Federico Chiesa is also in line to make the squad. Kostas Tsimikas has accelerated his recovery but will not feature and Alexis Mac Allister has been suspended.
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