"Give him time" - Alan Hutton tips Liverpool star to 'prove everybody wrong' this season 

Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Alan Hutton has claimed that new Liverpool signing Darwin Nunez will "prove everybody wrong" in the upcoming season. He believes that the Uruguayan will do well for the Reds if given time to adjust to the Premier League.

Earlier last month, Nunez joined the Reds from Benfica in a club-record deal worth up to £85 million, including add-ons. The Uruguayan striker, who penned a six-year deal at Anfield, netted 34 goals in 41 matches for the Primeira Liga outfit in the 2021-22 campaign.

The 23-year-old donned the famous red shirt for the first time in a pre-season friendly against Manchester United in Thailand on July 12. However, he received flak from fans after a second-half miss in the 4-0 loss at the Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok.

Speaking to Football Insider, Hutton opined about the summer transfer. When asked about his assessment of Nunez's criticism, he said:

"I'm just going to talk as a footballer, anything can happen. It could be tiredness, it could be a bobble on the pitch, it could be anything. It's one miss. I think what fans are thinking is [Sadio] Mane's left, they've spent a lot of money on a new striker and he's had this opportunity and blazed it over the bar."

He continued:

"It happens to everyone, it's one of those things. The real test will be when the season starts. His goalscoring record is there for everyone to see. Give him time, he's just walked through the door. There's no point in having one miss and then everybody starts jumping on the bandwagon. I don’t like that. Give him time to settle in, I'm sure his record stands for itself and he'll prove everybody wrong."

Nunez is expected to make his competitive debut for Liverpool in the Community Shield against Manchester City on July 30.

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Fabinho backs Luis Diaz to shine at Liverpool next season

Liverpool midfielder Fabinho has claimed that forward Luis Diaz will assume a more important role next season in the absence of former Reds attacker Sadio Mane. The Senegalese joined Bayern Munich this summer after six illustrious years with Liverpool.

Speaking to The Athletic, he said:

"For a long time, it was always Sadio on the left side. But now, we have Luis [Diaz] on the left side and we saw how well he played in the second half of last season. Luis will become increasingly important."

Diaz is a pacy dribbler with a knack for scoring long-rangers as he displayed last season. He registered six goals and five assists in 26 matches for the Reds last season. He is expected to form a new-look Liverpool attack alongside new signing Darwin Nunez and superstar Mohamed Salah.