Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez endured a mixed season in his first year with the Reds, but will be hoping to find more consistency with that debut campaign under his belt.
Nunez will cost Liverpool up to £85m by the time all add-ons in a club record transfer are triggered. His Premier League haul of nine goals – 15 in all competitions – could use some improvement, especially given that he plundered 26 in 28 league games in his last season with Benfica.
Things got off to a difficult start for the Uruguayan, sent off on his full Premier League debut for headbutting Crystal Palace’s Joachim Andersen, having actually enjoyed an impactful first appearance from the bench 11 days earlier with a goal and assist against Fulham.
That suspension and various subsequent minor injuries made the rest of the season very stop-start and denied Nunez the chance to put any lengthy run of starts together.
Two goals in the 7-0 thrashing of Manchester United was a high point that at least offers promise for the future, as were goals in four successive Champions League games.
With Roberto Firmino now gone and more onus on Nunez, there is every reason to suggest that his Liverpool career actually starts now. However, 24-year-old isn’t expected to mark that fresh chapter with a new shirt number, at least not now, even though his preferred jersey is available.
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Liverpool’s shirt numbers will already look quite different once pre-season gets up and running. The departures of James Milner and Naby Keita opened up seven and eight for Luis Diaz, trading down from 23, and new signing Dominik Szoboszlai respectively. Fellow new arrival Alexis Mac Allister has also been assigned the number 10 shirt most recently worn by Sadio Mane in 2022.
Number nine has been vacated by Firmino and is crying out for a new wearer, having become an iconic part of Liverpool history thanks in no small part to the club record 346 goals scored by Ian Rush. It is potentially the perfect statement from Nunez to take things to the next level.
His usual number with Uruguay is 11, but arguably only because national hero and former Reds star Luis Suarez is yet to hang up his boots. Nunez did wear nine in each of his two seasons with Benfica and the number is part of his username on multiple social media platforms.
But Nunez hasn’t opted to go for the number nine shirt just yet, it seems. While the announcement regarding Diaz taking over as the new seven came quickly, the striker was seen on the first day of Liverpool’s pre-season training wearing kit that still bore his existing 27.
He will still have time to change his mind as numbers aren’t locked in until just before the start of the Premier League season, which for 2023/24 falls on 11 August. But with Liverpool releasing their new home kit back in early May and following up with their away kit last week, changing now or at a later date has the potential to upset Nunez fans who have already had theirs printed with 27.
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This article was originally published on 90min as Darwin Nunez hints what Liverpool shirt he will wear in 2023/24.
