Jurgen Klopp, manager of Liverpool, has stated that he sees potential in Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo and is not concerned if they are not prolific scorers for the Reds right away.
Nunez signed from Benfica for a fee that could reach €100m if all additional clauses are met, while Gakpo is Liverpool’s newest signing following an initial £37m move from PSV Eindhoven this week.
Speaking to the media ahead of their Premier League clash with Leicester, Klopp said it was the right time to move for Gakpo due to his relatively low price tag.
“He is a young player with a lot of potential. If we’d waited for him scoring 40 goals in Spain, unaffordable,” he said. “It is all about timing, getting these boys in the right moment. We believe in our process. When players come here, they take a step forward.”
While Gakpo comes to England as a newbie, Nunez now has nearly half a season of Premier League experience under his belt, though has failed to establish himself as a consistent performer.
But Klopp compared the situation of his two newest forwards to that of Robert Lewandowski when he joined Borussia Dortmund.
“Journalists would ask me why [Lewandowski] was playing instead of Lucas Barrios, who had scored 16 the previous season,” Klopp said.
“Lewi would play different positions, like number 10, to learn different things and develop his game but didn’t like it too much.
“We had shooting sessions where we had bets – if you score more than 10 I will pay you €10. If you don’t, you have to pay me. My pocket was full of money! It was about staying calm. When you see potential, stay calm.
“Is everything right [with Nunez]? No. But it is all coming. I am super calm about it. The team believe in him and that is really cool.”
source: https://www.90min.com/
