Darwin Nunez — both spearhead and battering ram

The 23-year-old striker has the offensive repertoire to become a point of difference for Klopp’s Liverpool

When an attacking talent impresses Luis Suarez, Virgil van Dijk and Jurgen Klopp, he must have something about him. All three of them, moreover, had the opportunity to observe the talent — Uruguayan striker Darwin Nunez — at close quarters.

Suarez knows his compatriot’s qualities very well and sought to dismiss comparisons between them, insisting that the 23-year-old be given his own spotlight.

“Darwin will write his own story at Liverpool. He is Uruguayan and he is a forward but that is where the comparisons stop — he is a special player and doesn’t need to be compared with anybody,” Suarez, among the top strikers of his generation, told The Mirror.

“It was last season that Europe started to take notice of him, but from an early age I could see there was something special in him,” he added.

Van Dijk, who came up against Nunez in the Champions League when Liverpool played Benfica, offered a glowing verdict of his then opponent. “Very direct, quick, tall and strong. Quite difficult to play against,” said van Dijk, regarded as one of the game’s premier centre-backs.

After watching his formidable central defenders being harried by Nunez, Klopp was similarly struck by the front-man who found the net twice over two legs.

“A good looking boy, huh? And a decent player as well!” joked the Liverpool manager. “Really good, really good. I knew before, of course, but he played pretty much in front of me with his tough battles with Ibrahima Konate. He was physically strong, quick, and was calm around his finish. I always say in these situations, if he is healthy, it’s a big career ahead of him.”