Dirk Kuyt, the former Liverpool star, has sent a strong message to Darwin Núñez, saying the striker’s struggles at Anfield remind him of the challenges during his time at the club.
Kuyt, who played alongside legends like Fernando Torres, believes Núñez still has a chance to turn things around if he keeps working hard.
Núñez, who joined Liverpool in 2022, has found the going tough this season. After scoring 18 goals last term, he has managed just seven so far in 2024/25. With only nine Premier League games left, fans are starting to worry. To make matters worse, Núñez missed a penalty in Liverpool’s Champions League shootout loss to Paris Saint-Germain and had a quiet game in the Carabao Cup final defeat to Newcastle.
But Kuyt, who knows what it’s like to play under pressure at Liverpool, has backed Núñez to bounce back. Speaking ahead of the Reds Legends charity match against Chelsea, Kuyt said: “At Liverpool, you always have to be at your best. Every player has to perform day in, and day out. If you don’t, someone else will take your place.”
Kuyt also compared Núñez’s situation to his own experience playing alongside Torres. “When you have a teammate like Mo Salah—or in my time, Fernando Torres—who make scoring look easy, the fans expect the same from you. It’s not easy, but you have to keep pushing,” he added.
Kuyt shared his own story, saying:
“I played the first season with Craig Bellamy and Peter Crouch, and I was the top scorer. I thought, ‘I will be OK for next season,’ and then the club signed Fernando Torres. You always have to be at your best to stay at Liverpool. Every player has to perform day in, day out, and you know if you are not performing, another player will be ready to fill your place.”
He also spoke about how Arne Slot will push Núñez to improve: “If you know Arne Slot a little bit, every day he will have tried to push Darwin to get the best out of him. He will never stop doing that, and then the player decides himself whether he will play or not because he will have to perform.”
Núñez is currently on international duty with Uruguay, where he hopes to find his form in World Cup qualifiers against Argentina and Bolivia.
The striker has admitted he’s not performing well, saying: “I know I’m not performing as well as I should. It’s difficult because when you’re doing well, like when I came on against PSG (assisting Harvey Elliott), your confidence changes. But then you get a slump, and I’m always there to help my teammates. The ball doesn’t want to go in. I run a lot, play well, and then not be able to score a goal.”
Núñez also shared a conversation he had with former Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina: “I became friends with Pepe Reina, and after the first season, he congratulated me with the fact I was one year at Liverpool. He said, ‘Actually, every year you can stay at Liverpool, it is a championship of your own.’”
Despite the struggles, Núñez remains determined: “I’m strong in my head, and my family always supports me. That’s the important thing to keep working and bring joy to everyone, like beating Argentina to get the three points. I want to forget a little about what’s happening there (at Liverpool), and besides, there’s nothing more beautiful for a player than wearing your country’s jersey.”
Kuyt’s final message to Núñez was clear: “Darwin is pushing himself very hard. Sometimes he does well, and sometimes he doesn’t score the goals he wanted himself. That makes it difficult because the pressure is so big.”
