Alan Shearer has urged Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez to 'knuckle down' but believes he can become a world class striker.
The Uruguayan has come under immense scrutiny since his move from Benfica in the summer and endures criticism for each chance missed.
Nunez, however, is quickly emerging as the latest forward to strike fear into his opponents, receiving praise from Gary Neville and Reds legend Jamie Carragher in recent weeks.
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So far in the Premier League, the 23-year-old has five league goals (10 in all competitions) but does hold the unwanted record of missing the most 'big chances' in the English top flight this season.
However, the all-time leading goalscorer in the Premier League has tipped the Reds forward to be "world-class", on four conditions.
"It’s easy to forget that Nunez only experienced two seasons of first-division European football before making the move to Liverpool," he wrote in The Athletic. "Before joining Benfica in 2020, his only taste of football outside South America was in Spain’s Segunda Division for Almeria.
"The point is, he has plenty of time to become the world-class striker that all his attributes suggest he could be and he has plenty of knowledgeable people at Liverpool to help him get there, including the fans who continue to back him.
"For now, it’s about the training ground, knuckling down, practising relentlessly, finding comfort in that toil and honing those skills. He’ll get there."
The former Newcastle striker also took aim at rival fans for their abuse of the former Benfica forward branding their taunts as 'unfair'.
He added: "Nobody has fluffed more big chances than Nunez in the Premier League this season (15 according to Opta).
"Place that next to an initial transfer fee of £64million ($77.6m), compare his 10 goals in all competitions to Erling Haaland’s 27 for Manchester City, factor in the Norwegian’s cheaper cost and Liverpool’s struggles in the Premier League, plus those cruel chants from opposition fans about him being “just a s*** Andy Carroll”, and it doesn’t look great, does it?
"Most of that is grossly unfair, though."
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