Darwin Nunez made his mark with the winning goal as Liverpool beat West Ham 1-0, with Jurgen Klopp, Virgil van Dijk and Alisson all full of praise.
It felt like a breakthrough performance from Nunez, who until now has struggled to really stamp his authority on games.
The £85 million signing from Benfica was excellent from the off as the Reds sealed a third consecutive win, going close on a number of occasions either side of his match-winner.
Speaking to Amazon Prime after the game, Klopp hailed his No. 27 as the full package, but one who still “has to develop.”
“He is an exceptional talent, you can see that,” the manager said.
“His runs, the speed he has, the physicality, the finishing skills are absolutely exceptional.
“He has a really good technique but doesn’t use them all the time. Sometimes he’s too much in a rush and the first contact goes a little bit somewhere.
“But there is everything there. We are really excited about it.
“But like most of the time, when you are young you have time to develop, but you have to develop. That’s what we are working on.”
Van Dijk also spoke to Amazon Prime, and noted the small improvements Nunez is making to his game while still adjusting to life in a new country.
“He has so much potential,” Van Dijk explained.
“He’s still young, he’s learning, he’s learning the way we play, he’s learning English which is also helpful.
“He’s the modern-day striker that causes a lot of defenders problems. You could see today, his runs in behind, his buildup play is getting better.
“Obviously we have different weapons to try and exploit opponents and that’s good.”
Alisson also touched upon Nunez’s efforts to learn English, and explained how he and the rest of the squad are helping both him and Luis Diaz settle in.
“Well, we are helping him a lot. We keep him really close. He’s a really good lad,” the goalkeeper said.
“I know that it’s not easy, it’s really difficult to settle in a different country.
“When I came here, I knew little bit more of English than him. He’s learning, he’s working hard on that as well, not only on the pitch but outside, to learn English.
“He’s a really disciplined man and we are trying to help him, help Lucho, we are a really strong team who work together, who stick together all the time.
“When we are at the training ground, sometimes off the pitch as well, we come together to spend time together.
“This is important not only for him, but for his family and for all our families.”
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