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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has found 'his own Fernando Torres' but faces £85m dilemma
Jurgen Klopp has been told he has his own Fernando Torres at Liverpool.
Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez is Jurgen Klopp's own Fernandes Torres, claims ex-Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino. The pundit has questioned how Klopp will use his Uruguayan frontman next season after a mixed debut campaign in English football.
Liverpool signed Nunez last summer for a fee that could rise to £85million. It will break the club's transfer record once certain add-ons are reached.
The 24-year-old was not able to have the impact many hoped for last season. He started just 19 Premier League matches, coming off the bench on nine other occasions.
Nunez scored nine times and registered three assists, as well as netting four times in the Champions League. But he had to settle for a place for much of the latter stages of the season.
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Klopp opens up on Nunez's first season at Liverpool
Cascarino has compared Nunez to former Reds striker Torres but more because of the Spaniard's spell at Chelsea. Torres often struggled in front of goal when playing for the Blues and was unable to live up to his £50m price tag.
Cascarino says there are similarities with Nunez and is intrigued to see how Klopp uses him next term after such a huge outlay in terms of a transfer fee. He said on talkSPORT: "I'm really intrigued what he does with Nunez up front. He found himself out of the team towards the end of the season, regularly.
"They paid £80m for him and he didn't improve. Liverpool fans, they were a bit like Chelsea fans were with Torres, really willing him on to keep going and going and going.
"Chelsea fans were fantastic with Torres and likewise with Timo Werner. Liverpool fans were that to Nunez, they always sang his name, they always were willing and knowing he was trying for them. But he's got to be better for Liverpool next year."
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Liverpool missed out on the Premier League top four last season and therefore Champions League qualification. Cascarino says some of the performances were of particular concern but has backed Klopp to turn it around.
He added: "There were some awful performances. Napoli away in the Champions League stands out for me.
"The Brentford performance, the way Brentford played against Liverpool, really found it difficult. Many other games, even Arsenal away I thought they were really poor, although it was a tight game at times, I still thought they were poor.
"They've had, for Liverpool fans, hard-to-take performances. It has to be better and I believe he is the man for it."