Darwin Nunez is “not ready” to be a star player in a struggling Liverpool team, says former Chelsea player Tony Cascarino.
The Reds splashed out a club-record fee to sign the Uruguayan forward from Benfica in the summer transfer window.
His first appearance came off the bench against Manchester City in the Community Shield.
He was terrific on that day but has struggled in the Premier League.
Darwin’s first league appearance came at Fulham, when he once again came off the bench to play well, scoring and assisting a goal in the 2-2 draw.
However, he was given a straight red card on matchday two against Crystal Palace.
The 23-year-old’s headbutt on Joachim Andersen seen him pick up a three-game suspension and he has only scored twice in the league since the opening weekend at Fulham.
And it was a difficult night for Darwin on Saturday as Liverpool were beaten 2-1 at home to Leeds United.
Following yet another poor result for the Reds this season, Cascarino has decided that Darwin isn’t “ready” to thrive under Jurgen Klopp.
“He’s not ready enough to be in the Liverpool team,” he told talkSPORT.
“This Liverpool team has been challenging for all the major honours under Klopp for the last two or three years.
“He’s not ready to be in this type of Liverpool team, that’s the difference.”
Cascarino continued: “Harvey Elliott has done really, really well for Liverpool, but he wouldn’t be in the team of what Liverpool have had before.
“I am not saying that he hasn’t got a Liverpool future, he has. I just think there’s certain players that are playing in Liverpool’s team, and senior pros, who are not playing well.”
Pressure is growing on Klopp to turn things around, though you wouldn’t expect his job to be in danger.
Liverpool are currently ninth in the Premier League, 15 points behind pacesetters Arsenal.
Only two points separate the Reds and 13th-placed West Ham United.
It would be inconceivable to think that the club would be willing to sack Klopp given how successful he has been at Anfield.
The German inherited a pretty rubbish squad and turned them into Europa League finalists in his first season in charge.
And in his second full campaign at Anfield, Liverpool reached the final of the Champions League.
A year later they won the whole thing, beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in the final.
The club’s first Premier League title came in 2020 after Klopp led the Reds to a 99-point haul.
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