A champion at Liverpool, Nunez joins Al Hilal still with point to prove | OneFootball

Darwin Nunez lands in Riyadh with additional motivation to succeed.

The Uruguayan has already enjoyed plenty of success, even before 2022, when he agreed to join Liverpool for a reported £64 million. The fee was to rise to a potential £85m with add-ons.

The transfer made Nunez the English Premier League giants’ record signing, eclipsing the £75m they paid for Virgil Van Dijk in 2018.

Understandably, it added plenty of pressure onto young shoulders, even if the then-22-year-old arrived at Anfield having impressed significantly with Benfica in Portugal.

In his final season at the club, Nunez struck 26 goals in 28 Primeira Liga games; crucial to Benfica’s title triumph, he was later named the competition’s player of the season.

It was that scoring record that had expectant Liverpool fans enraptured when Nunez's acquisition was announced, especially with Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino in place at Anfield. The potential of the team's new attacking trio felt endless.

But for one reason or another, it did not work out that way.

Nunez’s first season on Merseyside was modest: he scored on debut in the FA Community Shield, which Liverpool triumphed 3-1 against Manchester City, while he found the net nine times in the Premier League.

Granted, it was well short of those numbers at Benfica, but it was considered a transition year, one that would help Nunez adapt to the game in England.

However, returns of 11 and five goals respectively in the past two campaigns did not betray Nunez’s potential and, indeed, his pedigree.

Still, there were flashes of brilliance that teased those in the Kop, such as his quickfire brace off the bench against Newcastle United in the opening rounds of the 2023-24 season. That double won the match for Liverpool, who had by then been reduced to 10 men.

Or another two-goal contribution, this time against Brentford, Nunez's twin strikes in stoppage-time giving Liverpool an important 2-0 victory on their charge towards the top-flight title.

And let’s not forget the audacious backheeled goal against Real Madrid, in the UEFA Champions League at Anfield. It was those moments of brilliance that hinted the player that Nunez was - or that he could become.

Hence, while Nunez leaves Liverpool with a tinge of sadness, he arrives in Riyadh with fire fuelled by the opportunity to fulfil that promise. In essence, to prove that he can still be the main man, to find the scoring form in front of goal that shone bright at Benfica.

It's safe to say such hunger is what Simone Inzaghi will seek to harness at Al Hilal this season and, judging by his work at Inter Milan, the Italian might be just the man to get the best out of his latest recruit.

In Italy, Inzaghi made a habit of improving players who were, at times, written off and thus looking to rebuild their reputation on the world stage.

For Nunez, the move to Riyadh therefore represents a fresh start, and for sure he adds a fresh potency to an Al Hilal attack that had perhaps started to wane a little during the past six months.

With Aleksandar Mitrovic hampered by recurring injuries, the offensive burden was left to the likes of Salem Al Dawsari, Malcom and Marcos Leonardo. To their infinite credit, they held up their end of the bargain, with 41 Roshn Saudi League goals between them last season.

Yet there were also signs that a fresh injection of potency was required.

At the recent FIFA Club World Cup in the United States, and despite the heroics of Leonardo against Manchester City, Al Hilal could lack a razor-sharp cutting edge – certainly in Mitrovic’s absence.

And that’s where Nunez comes in.

As the club set sights on reasserting their place at the summit of Saudi Arabian football – they finished runners-up in last term’s RSL – the pacy and powerful frontman might be just what they need to reclaim the championship from Al Ittihad.

Of course, Nunez offers a different profile to Mitrovic. The Serbian is a beast in the box, using his size and physicality to outmuscle opponents and almost bully his way to goals. Nunez’s attributes, it could be argued, are somewhat defter.

While still a fine athlete, Nunez likes to use his speed to get in behind defences; an explosiveness that has caught out even the best defences in Europe. But he is also more than just speed; he has a balanced blend of finesse and power, of instinct and positioning.

Don’t just take our word for it, though. Listen to none other than than new Al Nassr manager Jorge Jesus, who mentored Nunez at Benfica during that memorable 2020-21 Primeira Liga.

“All this decision-making ability, finishing and speed…he will be a world-class player,” said Al Hilal’s 2023-24 RSL title-winning manager, who this summer took charge at capital rivals Al Nassr.  “Unfortunately for me, maybe I will lose him in a short time."

Not only did Jesus lose him, to Liverpool and the club-record fee and the promise of much more to come, but he now must manage against him.

In turn, now in direct confrontation with Jesus, Nunez will be determined to deliver on his former coach’s lofty commendation.