Darwin Nunez is on fire with four goals in three friendlies… the £85 million hitman could be in for a huge campaign, but will he even make it into Liverpool’s best front three?

Darwin Nunez fell short of the expectations his £85 million price tag demanded. Despite arriving for a club record last summer and impressing in the Community Shield, his move to Anfield has been overshadowed by Manchester City’s new superstar Erling Haaland.

However, by most other stats, his debut campaign at Anfield was encouraging. He scored 15 and assisted four during Liverpool’s inconsistent season.

There is a call for even more encouragement for the Reds fans after the 24-year-old’s impressive pre-season. While scoring four goals in three games, Nunez has shown significant improvement in his play-building and decision-making in attacking situations.

Nunez would not be the first player to fool the footballing public with striking friendly performances. Twelve months ago, his four-goal volley in a 5-0 win against RB Leipzig added to the aforementioned excitement over his signing.

But after a year of getting used to a new country and a new philosophy of football, can Liverpool’s new No. 9 finally make the giant leap many have been expecting?

The battle for places in Liverpool’s front three will be fierce next season with Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez battling for a starting spot.

Klopp will no doubt get selection headaches during the campaign, but will ultimately be thankful to choose between a range of gifted forwards.

However, for any individual – with the possible exception of Salah – only near-perfect performances ensure a long run on the team.

And that will be due in large part to their production in both attacking and defensive phases of the game, Klopp said.

“The ticket for the team will be a willingness to defend,” the German told reporters on Sunday after the Reds’ 4-0 win over Leicester City. “I have never heard of a team being really successful with sloppy defending. It’s not happening.’

Nunez is by no means a bad defender and he regularly uses his unrivaled speed to chase opponents when a loss of possession occurs, but the ex-Benfica striker is not quite as impressive as his main rival for centre-forward, Gakpo.

The Netherlands international got off to a flying start following his arrival from PSV in January 2022, showing a skill set that would allow him to inherit Roberto Firmino’s false-9 role.

According to Fbref, Gakpo is in the 99th percentile for tackles per 90 (1.64), 85th percentile for interceptions per 90 (0.36), and 76th percentile for blocks per 90 (0.82) compared to other forwards.

Nunez, on the other hand, ranks in the 45th, 50th, and 52nd percentile across the three stats, achieving only 64 percent completion last season compared to Gakpo’s 76.

As a result, the Dutch attacker often got the attention as the center of the attack, with Nunez on the left side of a front three.

This configuration worked most spectacularly in Liverpool’s 7-0 demolition of Man United in March, where the two teamed up to wreak havoc on Erik ten Hag’s defence, grabbing a brace each.

But with Diaz’s return from a long-term knee injury, many would expect the Colombian to return to the left-wing position he took on in a surprising run at the end of the 2021-2022 season.

Like Nunez, Diaz has been looking good in pre-season after inheriting an iconic jersey number this summer. While his return to the first team last season coincided with the team’s performance falling apart.

However you look at it, Nunez will have to do his job to regularly secure a starting place in the current form of the team.

At the moment, he and Jota would be the most likely candidates to miss the opening Premier League game against Chelsea on August 13.

Next season, Liverpool are expected to play a 4-3-3 formation that becomes a 3-4-3 in possession as Trent Alexander-Arnold moves into midfield and forms a double pivot with the deepest midfielder.

The recent departures of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, the difficulty of finding a top-flight number 6 and the number of excellent forwards at the club could see the Reds boss using a system first deployed against Man City at the Etihad in 2020.

In a 1-1 draw, Liverpool started 4-2-3-1 with Firmino in the number 10 alongside Sadio Mane and Jota with Salah playing top. But with the ball, the system became a daring 4-2-4 with only Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum covering the defence.

A missed penalty from Kevin de Bruyne saw the then defending Premier League champions leave the Etihad by a point and while Klopp quickly returned to his preferred tactic, almost three years later it could be key to harmonizing the current squad’s imbalance .

The Anfield club have two pre-season games left before their trip to Stamford Bridge against German opposition Bayern Munich and Darmstadt.

Klopp’s sweeping changes in each half of their previous three friendlies were a clear indication of his focus on fitness, but Wednesday’s game against the Bavarian giants could finally reveal his master plan for the season ahead.

After improving his linking game, defensive work and understanding of English – if we are to believe fragments of behind-the-scenes training videos – Nunez has put himself in position to be the number 9 in more than name alone.