Darwin Nunez has been named as the brand new Liverpool quantity 9 for the 2023/24 marketing campaign, with the Uruguayan inheriting the illustrious shirt from the departed Roberto Firmino.
The quantity 9 carries a weight of expectation at most golf equipment, with Liverpool amongst these to have a proud historical past on the subject of centre-forwards adorning the shirt.
Nunez will hope to construct on a modest first season at Liverpool with the added confidence of a brand new shirt quantity and following the announcement that the 24-year-old has switched shirts, we’ve determined to rank each Liverpool quantity 9 of the Premier League period.
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 13, 2023
Rating each Liverpool quantity 9 of the Premier League period.
Ian Rush
Ian Rush is Liverpool’s all-time document goalscorer after a embellished – and prolific – profession at Anfield. Signed from Chester Metropolis for a document charge for a young person at the moment, Liverpool’s £300,000 funding could be repaid handsomely.
Rush scored a record-breaking 346 targets for the membership in all competitions throughout two spells, punctuated by an ill-fated single season sojourn to Juventus.
The 1983/94 marketing campaign proved a spectacular season as Rush scored 47 targets to fireside Liverpool to a league, League Cup and European Cup treble, together with his performances recognised with the PFA Gamers’ Participant of the 12 months award and European Golden Boot.
Ian Rush towards Man Utd. A dream for @LFC followers!#GoalOfTheDay pic.twitter.com/S80pGKjThl
— Premier League (@premierleague) January 15, 2019
Rush’s finest soccer got here earlier than the daybreak of the Premier League, however he scored a decent 45 targets within the rebranded top-flight for the Reds.
Rating: 10/10 – His finest was earlier than the Premier League, however the Reds’ document scorer deserves full marks.
Robbie Fowler
Thankfully for Liverpool, the Reds had a readymade Rush alternative within the type of Robbie Fowler.
The Toxteth teenager burst onto the scene with one of the memorable introductions to a Premier League profession, scoring 30+ targets in every of his first three full seasons and incomes back-to-back PFA Younger Participant of the 12 months awards.
Fowler was a daunting finisher and one of the pure goalscorers the Premeir League has seen, able to beating goalkeepers from all method of angles and distances. He scored 116 targets within the three-and-a-half seasons that adopted his debut in 1993, earlier than health points started to plague the ahead.
Accidents and the emergence of Michael Owen noticed Fowler’s function lowered, however he scored 17 targets as Liverpool received an FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup treble in 2000/01. He departed having scored 171 targets in 330 appearances in all competitions, earlier than returning for a brief second spell below Rafael Benitez.
A neighborhood lad with a present for goalscoring, there’s good motive the Kop name him ‘God’.
Rating: 9/10 – Exhilarating early emergence halted with accidents. A particular finisher.
Nicolas Anelka
Nicolas Anelka’s nomadic profession took in a brief cease at Liverpool throughout the 2001/02 season, with the Reds securing the signing of the French ahead on mortgage from Paris Saint-Germain.
Anelka complimented a ahead line that already contained Michael Owen and Emile Heskey, as Gerard Houllier’s facet completed as runners-up within the Premier League.
#OnThisDay in 2001, Nicolas Anelka joined the Reds! pic.twitter.com/HzvoRYOIOA
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 20, 2016
The loanee scored a modest 5 targets in 22 video games, however there was unhappiness when Houllier determined towards turning Anelka’s transfer right into a everlasting one. It's a choice which nonetheless rankles.
Rating: 6/10 – What might need been…
El Hadji Diouf
Houllier’s choice to not signal Anelka got here on account of Liverpool’s curiosity in El Hadji Diouf, whose seize of the Lens ahead appeared like shrewd enterprise as Diouf starred for Senegal on the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea.
Diouf marked his residence debut with a brace towards Southampton, however endured a seven-month drought earlier than his subsequent Liverpool aim. He scored simply 3 times in 55 league appearances for the Reds, together with a goalless 2003/04 marketing campaign.
Senegal’s El Hadji Diouf takes a swipe at former @LFC team-mates pic.twitter.com/8XdBQ34BTk
— BBC Information Africa (@BBCAfrica) June 29, 2017
A number of spitting incidents – together with throughout a UEFA Cup quarter-final at Celtic – made Diouf an unpopular determine, a fame since elevated after quite a few public spats with Liverpool legends Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.
Rating: 1/10 – An perspective and inflated ego that didn't match his expertise. Waging struggle with Liverpool’s favorite sons was a recipe for catastrophe.
Djibril Cisse
Signed in the identical summer time that noticed Michael Owen depart, Cisse appeared a super alternative together with his lightning tempo and instinctive ending.
A debut aim elevated optimism, however a horrific damaged leg derailed his debut season. He returned (quickly) to attain within the shootout as Liverpool beat AC Milan within the Champions League last, earlier than scoring 19 targets throughout a powerful 2005/06.
Thanks for the reminiscences, @DjibrilCisse! pic.twitter.com/w3vQoBs47d
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 8, 2017
That return included a wonderful aim within the FA Cup last win over West Ham, although it proved to be his last for the membership as he departed for Marseille on mortgage following the arrivals of Craig Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt.
Rating: 6/10 – Damage maybe prevented Cisse from reaching the extent anticipated. Nonetheless, first rate at instances.
Fernando Torres
Liverpool’s quantity 9 remained vacant for a season till Fernando Torres inherited the shirt upon his club-record arrival from Atletico Madrid.
Not often has a brand new signing hit the bottom working fairly just like the Spanish striker, who received the hearts of the Liverpool followers with a sequence of electrical performances.
Torres scored 33 targets in all competitions throughout his first season and whereas his finest was transient, for a brief interval at Liverpool he was arguably the best centre-forward in Europe.
Fernando @Torres at his perfect for @LFC. pic.twitter.com/lQmBEzw2KH
— Premier League (@premierleague) March 20, 2023
Explosive, thrilling and medical, his recognition at Anfield means most have since forgiven his British switch document defection to Chelsea in 2011. That he was fairly s*** at Stamford Bridge in all probability helped.
Rating: 9/10 – A brief however candy spell as Europe’s finest quantity 9.
Andy Carroll
Has there ever been a deadline day fairly like January 2011?
Fernando Torres waved adios to Liverpool to signal for Chelsea in a £50m document deal, with the Reds losing no time in reinvesting the funds to signal Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll.
One of many new arrivals developed into the Premier League’s most interesting expertise, producing three-and-a-half seasons of goalscoring genius that quickly made Liverpool overlook about Torres’ traitorship in heading for Chelsea.
The opposite was Andy Carroll.
#OTD in 2012
Within the 87th minute and together with his again to aim, Andy Carroll’s header despatched Liverpool straight into the #FACupFinal pic.twitter.com/iMRY72XHhd
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) April 14, 2019
A late FA Cup semi-final winner towards Everton and a thunderbastard towards Manchester Metropolis marginally enhance the large Geordie’s mark, having scored simply 11 targets in 58 appearances after his £35m club-record transfer to Merseyside.
Rating: 3/10 – One of many Premier League’s most memorable panic buys.
Iago Aspas
Iago Aspas is a reputation finest remembered within the Premier League because the Spanish striker who flopped at Liverpool and as soon as took arguably the worst nook within the division’s historical past.
For individuals who watch La Liga, the connotations are a improbable ahead who has scored a club-record 196 targets for Celta Vigo.
Remarkably, it’s the identical participant.
Rating: 2/10 – Generally it simply doesn’t work out.
Rickie Lambert
Rickie Lambert’s childhood dream got here true after the ahead finishing a transfer to Liverpool.
Lambert, as soon as of Macclesfield City, Stockport Nation, Rochdale and er… a beetroot manufacturing facility, had risen via the decrease leagues earlier than making a splash at Southampton.
Brendan Rodgers appeared to hedge his bets following the sale of Luis Suarez to Barcelona, signing the skilled Scouser alongside the promising Fabio Borini and unpredictable Mario Balotelli.
None of that trio proved to be successful.
Rating: 2/10 – A dream-come-true story for Lambert, much less so for Liverpool.
Christian Benteke
Christian Benteke’s highly effective presence made him one of many Premier League’s only forwards at Aston Villa, the place a return of 42 targets in 89 league video games persuaded Liverpool to spend £32.5m on his companies.
The Belgium worldwide appeared an odd match for Brendan Rodgers’ most popular model of soccer and so it proved, as Benteke struggled to copy his Villa type and scored simply 10 targets in 42 appearances.
Benteke @ Previous Trafford
You understand the remainder… #GoalOfTheDay // @chrisbenteke pic.twitter.com/91bBjy8jFM
— Premier League (@premierleague) January 24, 2021
An audacious overhead kick at Manchester United was a spotlight, however the big-money recruit was allowed to depart after only one season. His sensible finest at Villa has hardly ever been seen since.
Rating: 5/10 – An ungainly match.
Roberto Firmino
Roberto Firmino was not signed to be Liverpool’s quantity 9, however a change of supervisor and place noticed the Brazilian evolve into a contemporary nice.
Firmino was moved right into a centre-forward place after Jurgen Klopp’s arrival as supervisor and from there thrived because the facilitator of the membership’s formidable entrance three, dropping deep into half-spaces and bringing the perfect from these round.
Klopp: “For people with football knowledge, I’m pretty sure they’ll write books about the way Bobby [Firmino] interpreted the false-nine position.”@LFC | #UCL pic.twitter.com/Lesl7rsFq7
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 5, 2022
The primary line of defence with relentless work-ethic and the artistic hub of the facet when in possession, Firmino excelled as ‘false nines’ grew to become popularised and Liverpool received a wealth of honours below Klopp.
In tandem with Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, Firmino tormented defences at residence and in Europe, with the Samba showman profitable all the pieces within the course of.
Rating: 9/10 – Referred to as the engine of Klopp’s Liverpool for good motive.
Learn – Noughties Nines: Nicolas Anelka – Sullen and spectacular
Learn Additionally – Midfield Magicians: Xabi Alonso, the grand grasp of 4D chess
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