Jordan Henderson believes Liverpool may miss Sadio Mane but new-boy Darwin Nunez will provide a ‘new dimension’
Jordan Henderson has admitted that Liverpool may miss Sadio Mane following his exit to Bayern Munich, but new-boy Darwin Nunez will offer the Reds a ‘new dimension’.
Jurgen Klopp’s side announced the signing of Nunez from Benfica just days before their No. 10 departed for the Bundesliga giants.
The Uruguay international netted two goals against Liverpool last season in both legs of the Champions League quarter-final and Henderson believes our front three has remained ‘very strong’ for the upcoming campaign.
“Darwin performed well and scored in both games,” the Reds skipper told The Athletic. “That’s probably a big reason why we signed him, but also the recruitment staff will have watched him in plenty of other games and will have seen a lot of quality. Hopefully, he can settle in and hit the ground running.
“He’s a new option and a new dimension for us with the way we play and we’ve got to adapt to that quickly. This group has shown in the past that it is easy to settle in quickly, he can already speak with some of the lads and hopefully he can pick up English quickly.
“It was always going to be difficult losing Sadio because he’s world-class — one of the best forwards in the world. We were sad to see him leave but we wish him all the best.
“For us, you look at the forward line and it’s still very strong. We have brought new players in but we also have world-class players who performed last season.
“Luis Diaz performed phenomenally well, look at Mo (Salah) and the numbers he’s got, and obviously Bobby (Firmino) is a big plus coming back from injury last season. Darwin is hopefully a huge player for us going forward, and we have some young players coming through as well. Competition for places drives people on.”
Despite the likes of Mane, Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino all leaving the club this summer, we do certainly have a number of quality options at the top end of the pitch.
You’d expect Nunez to play centrally with Mo Salah and Luis Diaz either side of him in our strongest front three, but that still leaves Jurgen Klopp with plenty of options with Diogo Jota and Bobby Firmino in reserve.
Diaz hit the ground running when he arrived from FC Porto in January, so let’s hope we can say the same of our new Uruguayan this season.
Many claim that when our No. 23 arrived at the club at the beginning of the year, he arrived as a replacement for Mane.
The Colombian certainly excites supporters with his pace and direct style of play, but his next challenge is to add regular goals to his game.
The 25-year-old has registered six goals and five assists for the club since arriving on Merseyside and he’ll be hoping to pick up silverware with the Reds this term, as will Nunez.
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