Jurgen Klopp defends under-fire Darwin Nunez after future speculation escalates

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp launched a concerted defence of under-fire striker Darwin Nunez after speculation about his future escalated.

Following Sunday’s 4-2 win over Tottenham, the Uruguay international, who missed a relatively-simple one-on-one with goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario after coming on as a substitute, deleted all pictures of him playing for Liverpool from his Instagram account.

That led to increased conjecture about the 24-year-old, who has enjoyed a mixed couple of seasons since joining from Benfica for a potential club-record £85million transfer fee.

But Klopp believes the forward’s goals – he has 33 in 94 appearances – and assists do not give a fully-rounded picture of his contribution.

“It must be external because I don’t know about this. There is no speculation right now, it’s just a situation we are in,” he said.

“Darwin was definitely not happy missing that chance. He is unlucky, let me say that. He was unlucky in so many situations where he is doing everything right but the ball still doesn’t go in.

“That’s really tough for a young man. He has big expectations on himself. There is no alternative than going through it, that’s what he’s doing right now.

“We try to help him with all we can but you have to go through it, everyone has to go through this. That’s part of a footballer’s career.