13 July 2023 , 12:43
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Liverpool have confirmed that Darwin Nunez is the club's new number nine after the shirt number was briefly left vacant following Roberto Firmino's exit this summer.
The number nine has been worn by some of the club's greatest players, including Robbie Fowler, Fernando Torres and of course the recently departed Firmino. Therefore, taking on the number comes with a certain degree of pressure to deliver, but for now, Nunez is simply delighted to have taken on such responsibility.
He discussed the number change with Liverpool's official website and admitted he is eager to get started with a new number on his back but the same targets next term. "I’m really happy to wear number nine. And I’m very proud too," the Uruguay international explained.
Nunez added: "Honestly, previously other players represented this number really well and now it’s my turn to wear it. And I hope that everything goes well. I hope I’m able to represent it the best way just as the previous players did. And hopefully, this is for many years and that it brings a lot of joy too."
Liverpool have already confirmed that fans who had purchased the 2023/24 home shirt with Nunez's name and his old number, 27, will be able to get reimbursed with a like-for-like shirt with his new number on the back.
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Nunez bagged 15 goals in 42 appearances for the Reds across all competitions last term will be well aware that while that tally is respectable, it will need to improve if Liverpool are to go back to challenging for the biggest honours.
Darwin Nunez will don Liverpool's number nine shirtMirror Football is now on Threads! You can follow us here.
At the back end of last season, boss Jurgen Klopp insisted there was plenty more to come from Nunez, who was by no means a regular starter for Liverpool last term.
There were a number of games towards the end of the campaign where the Reds manager favoured an attacking trio of Diogo Jota, Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah, while Luis Diaz would also come in and out after recovering from a serious knee injury.
"There's a lot more to come," Klopp said of Nunez. "That's clear. He needs time to settle. The most difficult thing for a striker is to come into a team that is not clicking.
"Imagine if he played for us in a good season, an 80-point or more season, he would have scored more goals, definitely. But it is like now each situation we created and we miss it and it is a more high level.
"Mo Salah, in his best season when he scored 40-odd goals, missed chances. That's normal. Erling Haaland [has] missed chances. But they had much more than we created in this period. Fifteen goals is absolutely fine."