There is a reason Robbie Fowler's nickname is simply 'God' on Merseyside. Having emerged as a prospect of Liverpool's academy, the Scouse striker was known for his innate ability to find the net throughout his career.
Even once compared to his most clinical peers, Fowler painted himself as the ultimate finisher, having demonstrated a prowess when tasked with beating the goalkeeper. Peter Schmeichel, one of the best goalkeepers in Premier League history, labelled him as his toughest opponent in a conversation with beINSPORTS.
“I never really hated playing against anyone, I always loved the challenge," said the former Manchester United star. "Someone like Robbie Fowler was kind of annoying to play against because he always got the upper hand.”
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The Reds legend is regarded as the gold standard at Anfield, with the likes of Fernando Torres, Michael Owen and Luis Suárez almost judged according to whether they could finish like Fowler. It is a standard that Darwin Núñez will be judged against over the years after the Uruguayan poacher was signed from Benfica over the course of the summer for £85m.
Liverpool paid a lot to secure his services, and his impact so far has been chaotic to say the least. The South American has scored eight goals in all competitions, averaging one roughly every 112 minutes when he's on the field.
Núñez has looked like the very roughest of diamonds. He has all of the necessary potential to reach the pinnacle of the sport, but is also prone to appearing hectic at times having missed a fair few chances.
After scoring against Napoli on Tuesday night, Thierry Henry — arguably the best striker in Premier League history — was asked about his game and his start on English shores.
"Is he a finisher like Robbie Fowler? I don't think so," said the Arsenal legend. "He has goals in him, sometimes he will rush stuff. He's a bit like a young Alexis Sánchez or Luis Suárez. When you start to master what you're good at, you can control it better."
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The Frenchman's comments are fair based on what supporters have witnessed of Núñez so far, but it is curious that upon inspection of his performances in Portugal last season, he was entirely different. The 23-year-old needed very few opportunities before finding the net.
In the Portuguese Primeira Liga, he converted 27.2 per cent of his shots into goals last term, which placed him top of his division once compared with every other player to have posted at least 55 attempts on goal.
In fact, no player across Europe's top five leagues converted their shots into goals to a more efficient level than Núñez. He proved to be a ruthless marksman over the course of the campaign, capable of seizing moments whenever they emerge.
For perspective, Sadio Mané posted a conversion rate in the Premier League of around 18 per cent last season, and Mohamed Salah averaged marginally less. Diogo Jota converted roughly 17 per cent of his shots, which truly emphasises Núñez's figure of 27.2 per cent.
The large majority of offensive players tend to convert around 15 per cent to 20 per cent of their shots into goals. Even the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane tend to follow the theme.
Núñez also showed up as a natural when it comes to hitting the target. He posted a total of 85 shots in the Primeira Liga, hitting the target with 44 of them which equates to 51.8 per cent. Again, for context, Salah, Mané, Jota and Luis Díaz all found the target with between 36.3 per cent and 37.4 per cent of their shots in the Premier League.
Across Europe's top five leagues, only a select few players took more than 50 shots and found the target with 50 per cent or more of them: Neymar, Martin Terrier, Moussa Diaby, Memphis Depay, Francesco Caputo, Vinícius Júnior, Wissam Ben Yedder, Juanmi and the player with the highest average, Son Heung-min.
Núñez has taken 10 penalties over the course of his career for Benfica and Almeria, scoring every one of them. He has looked far from Fowler's level so far when it comes to converting his shots into goals, but he teased those clinical qualities at Benfica, which perhaps captures one of the reasons why Liverpool targeted him.
It is a high bar to meet but perhaps with time and confidence on his side, Núñez could wind up emulating one of the greatest strikers to ever sport the famous red jersey.
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November 03, 2022 at 01:00PM
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Darwin Núñez will soon debunk Liverpool myth as Neymar similarity offers exciting insight - Liverpool.com
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