Former Liverpool star bizarrely claims goal-shy Darwin Nunez could eclipse Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Co. to become best player in the world - but only if he improves one key area of his game

The Liverpool star has scored five goals in 19 Premier League appearances this season, making him the team's joint-second top scorer alongside Diogo Jota. Darwin has needed 58 shots to reach that tally, more than double the 24 that Jota has needed to score the same amount. The Reds' top scorer, Mohamed Salah, has netted 14 times with just 65 shots. According to former Liverpool player Hamann, the Uruguay star's poor finishing is holding him back from being the world's No. 1.

"Liverpool fans are losing patience with Darwin Nunez, but I think they’ve got enough patience to give him a few weeks more or months," he told King Casino Bonus. "The fact is, when he does play, Liverpool create more chances, but if you don’t convert these chances, all the effort is for nothing. At some stage, he’s got to start scoring these chances because before Burnley, his last goal was against Newcastle away and that was around a 12-14 matches before. If he could finish, Darwin Nunez could be the best player in the world. He’s fast, physical, and has everything bar finishing. If you don’t finish or score, you will get a problem but sometimes I think he’s never going to learn to, but then I think he needs more time! At the moment he scores the difficult chances and misses the easy ones!"

The Uruguay international has faced criticism this season for his disappointing finishing. However, Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders insists there is more to the 24-year-old attacker than goals and that it is "unfair" to judge him on his tally. Reds fans will hope that he can become a bit more prolific in the coming weeks, though, as they will be without top scorer Salah as he competes in the Africa Cup of Nations.

Jurgen Klopp will be hoping Darwin can chip in with a few goals when his side face Arsenal in the FA Cup third round on January 8. He has only scored one goal in his five appearances against the Gunners for either Liverpool or Benfica.