UFC star Paddy Pimblett believes Darwin Nunez’s link-up play makes him a better fit for Liverpool than Erling Haaland.
The Uruguayan forward has emerged as a huge fan favourite at Anfield since he signed from Benfica in 2022.
Nunez has been plagued by inconsistent performances, with the 24-year-old often being accused of wastefulness in front of goal.
However, he has demonstrated his true quality on various occasions, sometimes even in the same matches where he spurns key opportunities.
Speaking of the player on the BOSS Podcast, Liverpool fan and MMA lightweight Pimblett sent a message to fellow supporters, where he said: “We all love him.
“But you know what we do need to stop doing in the ground really, we need to stop going ‘Nunez, Nunez!’ when he misses. It’s encouraging him to just keep doing that.”
He added: “My arl fella [dad] said, ‘Lad, when it clicks with him, he’s just gonna explode, he’s just gonna not stop scoring.’ And he’s right.
“I think as well when he gets the ball, when he has time to think about it, he f***s up, when he’s got like three seconds to think about it.
“When the ball gets into his feet and he has half a second, boom, snapshot, he does well better. He’s more of a reactive player, if he’s got too much time to think about it, his head scrambles.”
Despite this, Pimblett believes that Nunez’s style is far more suited to Liverpool than what Manchester City star Haaland would bring to the side.
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“His link-up play, that’s the thing I think he doesn’t get appreciated enough for to be honest.
“Obviously, Haaland is an out and out goal scorer, he’s not getting any assists or any build-up play, but Nunez is tracking back.
“He’s tracking back into his own half and working into his own half, winning the ball back and then getting it up the other end of the pitch.
“It’s the link-up play, I think Nunez fits in our team better than Haaland would just for that reason.”
Nunez has scored 13 goals across all competitions this season, which is just two off his total tally for the previous campaign.
He has also provided more assists in his second year at Liverpool, with 11 coming this time around compared to four last term.
Whilst Nunez is providing the goods for the Reds, Haaland scored an incredible five goals against Luton in the FA Cup to take his overall tally to 27 in all competitions this season.