Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp praised Darwin Nunez, stating that the player is brimming with quality, following his two-goal performance in preparation for the match against Manchester City.
Nunez scored twice in Liverpool’s 5-1 victory against Sparta Prague in the Europa League.
At 24 years old, Nunez is currently experiencing one of his most prolific periods since joining Liverpool, with his two goals in Prague bringing his total to five in four games.
Klopp is confident that the £64 million signing from Benfica in June 2022 is flourishing ahead of a crucial series of matches, including an FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester United on March 17th.
“He had absolutely more than an OK first season but he had to adapt, that’s done, and he is settled in the middle of the team,” added the German boss.
“He loves to play for this team together with these boys and has quality coming out of his ears, to be honest.
“Is he at his absolute peak in general? Not now for us. But can he develop? Yes. Is he a threat all the time? Yes.”
Nunez is turning into a “world-class” forward, according to Spanish football expert Guillem Balague.
“People have focused on a supposed lack of quality in his finishing, but his mentality was ignored and that is what has taken him to where he is,” he added on the BBC Euro Leagues podcast.
“He is not the Benfica player, he is becoming a world-class player.”
The only negative on an otherwise positive night for Liverpool in their last-16 first-leg tie was an injury scare to centre-back Konate, who was taken off as a precaution.
Klopp added: “Ibou said when he passed me in that moment, ‘I thought if I do another sprint then it could be bad’. So he said he should be fine, but we don’t know.”
Liverpool also replaced fellow defender Joe Gomez at half-time with Conor Bradley, but Klopp allayed fears of an injury for the Englishman.
“Joey is fine,” he added. “We took him off, he played a lot of games so that was more rotation, precaution.”
The Uruguay forward has scored 16 club goals this season and provided a further 11 assists despite derogatory chants from opposition fans.
“He is not bothered by it and just keeps going,” added Klopp, who lost defender Ibrahima Konate to injury.
Leaders Liverpool host Manchester City, who are one point behind in second, at Anfield on Sunday (15:45 GMT) in a game of huge significance to the Premier League title race.