Danny Murphy believes Jurgen Klopp should hand Darwin Nunez a run of starts for his former club Liverpool, insisting he can score 20 goals-a-season.

The Uruguayan signed for the Reds ahead of the 2022/23 campaign. The season was difficult for all concerned on the red half of Merseyside, though a pattern emerged with Nunez from his Benfica days.

In his maiden year at Liverpool he scored 15 goals and made four assists. Two years prior - his first at the Estadio do Lisboa - his tally was 14 goals and 12 assists.

Then during a second campaign in Portugal his personal stats blew up, reaching 34 goals scored with four assists, ultimately resulting in his transfer to the Premier League.

Reading into the numbers, there was hope Nunez could follow suit and produce the goods in his second season on Merseyside. Especially with creative midfield additions to the squad, the task would be seemingly easier.

But so far while the striker has already scored four goals with three assists in 2023/24, Jurgen Klopp has only named him a starter as the central outlet of the front line in five of 10 appearances. The other five occasions that honour has been bestowed upon Cody Gakpo, who has scored three and assisted none.

Speaking on talkSPORT, ex-Reds midfielder Murphy made his preference clear.

"I really like what I see [when I watch Nunez]," he began. "I've been calling for a while now to give him a really good run of games because any young striker who is trying to build his confidence and his standing at a football club needs a good run of games.

"He will score goals. He is [going to miss chances too], but if he plays all the time, will he get you 20 goals? I think he would. I think he will. He looks capable, he's quick, good in the air, huge.

"Look, Liverpool have got good options in attacking areas. When you play the best teams, him down the middle with [Luis] Diaz and [Mohamed] Salah right and left is the way I'd be playing.

"Not Gakpo, and I like Gakpo but I always look at it like this - if you're a centre-back for Man City, Man U, Tottenham, Arsenal, and you see the Liverpool team sheet with Gakpo playing or Nunez playing, Nunez [worries you more]."

Nunez is currently away on international duty with his country, who face Diaz's Colombia and Alisson Becker's Brazil during the break. Meanwhile Gakpo remains at the AXA Training Centre hoping to recover from injury in time for the Merseyside derby.