Pep Lijnders warns Premier League over Liverpool striker whose 'life has just changed'
Pep Lijnders believes Darwin Nunez has been transformed at Liverpool by his match-winning brace at Newcastle last month.
And the Reds assistant boss talked up the confidence of the No.9 after his fourth goal of the season helped beat West Ham United 3-1 at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.
Nunez was sent on with less than 15 minutes of normal time remaining at Newcastle on August 27 with the Reds one goal down and a man short following Virgil van Dijk's first-half dismissal.
The Uruguay international struck twice inside the final 10 minutes to steal the points for Liverpool against all odds and Nunez is now contributing to a goal or an assist every 52 minutes this term. Lijnders says he is delighted for the £64m striker and believes his new-found confidence, gained from that intervention at St James' Park, has been the difference.
"Compliments to Darwin, the fans love him," Lijnders said. "He has this extreme mentality to run and fight and arrive in positions no-one thinks he can arrive. For us it is really important he stepped up offensively and defensively.
"It's nice to see him in the good moments, it's nice to see him positive, starting games in a row back-to-back and you see immediately what this does to a player. He is a pure intuition player. He smells goals and he sees and he does.
"Away at Newcastle, it would change any players' life if you can change a game the way he changed the game. We played there for a long time with 10 men and how he made two goals from nothing. It has given him confidence.
"An intuition player like Darwin, he needs this kind of confidence. He speaks better English already, he invests a lot in himself. And it's like every person everywhere, you need success, no? A player with confidence or without is just a different player. So it is important he is confident and he is training really really hard."
Lijnders also revealed how manager Jurgen Klopp gave back-up goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher "perspective" during the summer months as speculation over his long-term future rumbled on.
The Ireland international had been tipped to leave Anfield in search of regular game-time elsewhere but Lijnders was delighted to see Alisson Becker's deputy stay put, describing him as a "world-class" talent.
Lijnders added: "Caoimh Kelleher has a long-term contract, for me he can play in any team in the Premier League, he is just a world-class goalkeeper and we give compliment for Alisson's role. That's what I mean, with all the talents of the players they can really learn from each other and combine.
"He was a talent but is not a [young] talent anymore, he is just a world-class goalkeeper. Kelleher needs game time, it's a really good thing that he stayed with us and we could give him perspective and that Jurgen gave him perspective.
"We're just really happy that he is with us because you want each position with two top ones and that's young and old, but top players who can play in any kind of game. And whatever happens, we can put Caoimh in and the game will not change a lot.
"He is calm with his feet, he knows where to bring the ball, he can read it and he is exceptional in one-on-one situations in my opinion. Can improve other things but that's the good thing. We're happy they are with us and hopefully it stays like that for a long time.
"It depends how players act, how players train, how they are in the room, you never get guaranteed games, you have to show in training, you have to show that each game is like the last one of your life. This is the mentality we want from our boys because that's what makes you better.
"So if they show this then Caoimh and all of them...I say it all the time, we're so lucky that the Premier League managers are not looking to our training sessions. Because if they were to see that, Caoimh is just a cat. It's nice and it's good.
"He has this talent to surprise like Alisson and out of nothing it is like: 'wow! What just happened?'"
