Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo has identified fellow striker Darwin Nunez as the quickest player at Anfield.
Gakpo and Nunez are part of a formidable forward line under Arne Slot, competing with the likes of Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz for starting positions. The swift counter-attacks that were a hallmark of former manager Jurgen Klopp’s tenure have been maintained under Slot, with no one struggling to keep pace.
Diaz, who often competes with Gakpo for a position on the left, utilised his speed effectively in the recent draw against Arsenal. Salah, who usually operates on the right, also used his pace to score a late equaliser.
However, neither tops Gakpo’s list when it comes to speed. Interestingly, when the league’s 10 fastest players were announced in September, not a single Liverpool player made the cut.
In a conversation with Pro Direct Soccer, Gakpo initially asked if he was ranking the fastest based on last season’s statistics. When clarified that it was purely about who could outrun him, Uruguayan striker Nunez emerged as the winner, reports the Mirror.
“Darwin Nunez, he’s one of the fastest if not the fastest in the team,” Gakpo revealed. When asked about the speed of team-mate Andy Robertson, another speedy player, he responded, “He’s quick, but not the fastest”.
When questioned about the fastest opponent he has faced, he quickly named Kyle Walker.
Liverpool manager Slot has shared his thoughts on Nunez’s optimal role, focusing more on his position than his speed. With Jota sidelined due to injury and Nunez taking the central role against Arsenal, Slot suggested that he doesn’t necessarily view Nunez as a pure striker.
“It is a pity that Jota is not available,” remarked Slot in the run-up to Liverpool’s Carabao Cup clash with Brighton. “And [Federico] Chiesa is also not available as they were, in my opinion, the most logical No .9s, but we still have other options.”
Slot praised Nunez for his dedication: “I think about Darwin, I gave him credit for the fact he worked so hard in previous weeks when he didn’t play a lot to be able to play three games in a row,” he said. “I think three games in eight days, so that says a lot about him but it also says a lot about the quality of our performance staff and medical staff that we were able to give him the right sessions to prepare him in the right way.
“You always need the player to buy in because you can give him the right sessions, but if he doesn’t give everything then it is very difficult for him to do what he did. Also with him it was a good thing his ban for the Uruguay team was cancelled so he could play two games there, that probably helped for him to play the way he did and I am not talking about the quality he played with, but the intensity he played with.”
