Liverpool supporters were as shocked as many Manchester United fans to see that Cody Gakpo had agreed a deal to move to Merseyside but one man who may not be as delighted as his supporters – is Darwin Nunez.
The Uruguayan has impressed many of the Anfield faithful but been on the end of a considerable amount of ridicule from those further afield and many of these observers may assume that the signing of the Dutch international could spell the end of the former Benfica forward’s days in the starting line-up.
Surely aware of the deal that had been agreed with PSV, Jurgen Klopp seemed to send a very deliberate message to his big-money striker in his Boxing Day press conference (as relayed on the club’s official website) and the 55-year-old said: “He’s unstoppable when we keep the ball and pass it in the right moment, there’s no defender who can really catch up speed-wise.
“I know all the stories around and it’s all fine but we are completely calm, everything will be fine. He played an exceptional game and we won 3-1 and that’s all that counts.
“I haven’t been in the business since yesterday and I’ve had some strikers around. I know scoring at the beginning is really not important. There are so many other things that are much more important. You just have to stay calm.”
It does seem that once the 23-year-old adds more calm to his game, he will soon become a real goal threat but it appears that there’s no thought of giving him some time out of the limelight as of yet.
Given the current injury concerns with Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Bobby Firmino though, the German will likely use his summer signing alongside Mo Salah and the new attacker from the Eredivisie for the short-term future.
It’s then up to the players to prove who deserves the starting role for the Reds full-time, as they try to catch up with those at the top of the table.