Ex-Liverpool defender names one thing Arne Slot needs to achieve next season

Jose Enrique believes that one of Arne Slot’s biggest goals has to be improving Darwin Nunez next season.

The Uruguayan will enter his third season at the club since arriving from Benfica in 2022 and the jury is still out on whether he can be the striker to lead Liverpool to trophy successes. Since arriving, they’ve won the EFL Cup and finished fifth and third in the Premier League and there has been strong criticism across the duration of his time at the club.

Granted, there has been plenty of occasions where that has been warranted as he missed 47 big chances in the league across two seasons - only Erling Haaland (62) managed more. However, in the league, his 11 goals from an expected goals figure of 19.04 was the biggest under-performance of any player in the league.

His overall figures for the season were strong with 18 goals and 13 assists across 54 appearances, which was a strong increase on last season, but it is clear the underlying issues remain and trust in the striker to deliver when it matters most is still not there.

Speaking to Grosvenor Sport, Enrique outlined that getting the best out of Nunez will be one of his main goals in his first season in charge. “Liverpool bought Darwin Nunez for a lot of money, so Arne Slot will have to try and make it work with him at least," he said.

"I know he’s a manager that likes to press and keep possession, but I believe Darwin is at his best when he’s running in behind and in on goal with a lot of space. Santiago Gimenez of Feyenoord, Slot’s striker last year, is a very different profile to Darwin Nunez, so it’s a tough one to know if Nunez's profile will suit what Slot wants.

“You can see Darwin is giving his all to do well at Liverpool, but at the same time I’ve seen Luis Suarez and Fernando Torres play at Liverpool and I don’t think he’s at that level at all, so Liverpool may look to bring someone of that quality in. I’d like to see him improve towards becoming like a Suarez or a Torres, and who knows maybe Arne Slot can get that improvement out of him.”

Nunez has a chance to shine this summer ahead of next season under Slot; he will lead the line for Marcelo Bielsa’s side at the Copa America.