Arne Slot has sent a clear message to Darwin Nunez – now he must listen

Darwin Nunez was sitting on the bench, the £80 million investment in his potential increasingly scrutinised, when the manager mapped his route back into the starting XI.

“The ticket into the team will be readiness to defend,” said the coach, detailing that while Nunez had the capacity to thrill in possession, greater understanding was required without it.

It was 12 months ago when Jurgen Klopp made those remarks.

Klopp’s successor, Arne Slot, was effectively reading the same script when explaining what Nunez must improve to elevate himself from Diogo Jota’s back-up to preferred option.

“I think it comes down to what you have to do when we have the ball and when we don’t have the ball, and fit his own characteristics into that,” said Slot.

Amid words of encouragement, there must be concern that identical instructions are taking too long for the striker to absorb.

It is unlikely the Uruguayan will force his way in against Bournemouth in the Premier League fixture on Saturday, but the Carabao Cup beckons against West Ham in midweek and there is a growing urgency for the 25-year-old to grasp the tactical and technical instructions to turn around his Anfield career.

Nunez’s maverick reputation has been more of a curse than blessing since his arrival. He has enjoyed wonderful moments, but they are in danger of being packaged as memorable cameos rather than sustained periods of excellence.

The modern game is far more about adding the finishing touches to choreographed training ground drills than free spirits relying on their instinct in the heat of battle.

Whenever he has been summoned off the bench this season, whether Liverpool have been comfortably ahead as they were against AC Milan in the San Siro in midweek or desperately seeking an equaliser against Nottingham Forest three days earlier, Nunez has still looked like the raw number nine of his first two years, drawing the same crazy patterns as his eagerness to impress with extraordinary attempts is in sharp contrast to the poise and purpose of Liverpool’s other attackers.

Jota, Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah possess game intelligence as much as incredible skill, intuitively understanding where they should be operating in all zones. The signing of Federico Chiesa means Slot has six forwards to choose from, the Italian having already shown during his career that a football brain accompanies his rapid pace. When he is picked, as with the other four, there is an expectation he will carry out his attacking and defensive duties with equal vigour. With Nunez, there is a feeling that there is more hope he will do so.

Slot evidently has not worked with Nunez long enough to iron out the flaws, and he is prepared to be patient to get the necessary outcome.

“We work with him on his qualities to get the best out of him. But there’s also a general thing he has to understand, like all the others,” he elaborated.

“There’s nothing so much different than we work on with Diogo or the other strikers, although they all have their own characteristics.

“Diogo is a bit more of a striker that can also go into the midfield and play as a false nine or a nine and a half, where Darwin is more the target man, a striker that finishes off a good attack.

“Our staff is working a lot with videos about team orientation - where to position yourself when we have the ball and when we don’t have the ball.

“So this is what we show them a lot, and then how he can bring the best out of his own qualities compared to the other players we have.

“So we play with Mo or with Lucho [Diaz] or with Federico or with Cody, it’s always a bit different where you have to position yourself.

“So there’s a lot of focus on individual clips, not only for him, for all the others as well.”

The hope at Anfield is that a different voice will eventually unlock the talent that Klopp once said was so big “it is a little bit terrifying”.

Nunez can be under no illusions where he stands on and off the pitch. Now he must show he gets the message.