Ian Wright has suggested that he would never substitute Darwin Nunez for Liverpool because of the threat he offers in behind.

The Liverpool No. 9 has been in fine form since the start of the year and has 12 goal involvements in his last 13 games.

Nunez didn’t find the net in the 1-1 draw with Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday and was taken off for Cody Gakpo after 76 minutes. However, prior to that, he had scored in each of his previous four outings.

Analysing the striker’s impact up top on Sky Sports, Premier League great Wright claimed the ability to keep making runs in behind makes the Uruguayan a threat worth keeping on the pitch.

Wright said: “I’d never take him off, especially at Anfield. I would just tighten him up in those situations. I’d let him watch those videos and say ‘look at this’.

“Look what he can do. Speak to Harvey Elliott and say, ‘Harvey when you get that ball, you don’t even need to look. When you get the ball in that situation and no-one’s tight, just put it over there.’

“I used to say that to all of them. I used to say that to Dicko, to Nigel, all of the players [I played with]. John Jensen.

“Don’t even look. If it’s in there, I’m going to go. You’ll just hear me. Just put it in there.

“People know, especially at the start of the games, people know ‘jeez, he’s going to be going down there all day.’

“What happens is, you can feint there and get it to feet and you can start playing with people.”

"Look what he can do" 💪

Ian Wright says Darwin Nunez should never be taken off at Anfield 👀 pic.twitter.com/qnHlBzfxgA

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 11, 2024

After a mixed debut season, Nunez has gone from strength to strength in his second campaign at Liverpool.

He is currently the Reds’ second-top scorer with 16 goals in all competitions and has established himself as Jurgen Klopp’s preferred central attacking option when fit.

Unique option

Discussing his teammate recently, Mohamed Salah hailed Nunez’s ‘unique’ skillset.

“We never had that quality before [that] he loves to run in the space,” said Salah. “He doesn’t like the ball much in his feet, which is unique [and] he’s really, really fast.

“He keeps looking at me because he knows I can get him the ball easily in the space and he can finish the situation. His numbers this season are improving a lot, which is great for us.”