Klopp and Alexander-Arnold welcome 'powerful' Nunez whose number promises big goals

Signing for an initial £64million that could rise to £85m, the striker joins from Benfica after a campaign in which he shone in the Champions League against a number of top sides.

The 22-year-old Uruguayan scored twice against the Reds last season, as well as finding the net against Barcelona and Bayern Munich to take his tally for the season to 34 goals in 41 games.

Seen as a replacement for the soon-to-depart Sadio Mane, Nunez should help Liverpool in their pursuit of Manchester City, who recently announced the signing of Erling Haaland.

Former Benfica teammate Adel Taarabt revealed to talkSPORT that Klopp went straight to the striker after he scored at Anfield, and the Liverpool boss has revealed why he is so excited.

Speaking to Liverpoolfc.com, the German coach said: "This is super news, really super news.

"I'm very grateful to everyone at the club for making it happen. We've shown decisiveness and ambition in equal measure.

"Darwin is a wonderful player; already really good but so much potential to get even better. That's why it's so exciting, to be honest. His age, his desire, his hunger to be even better than he currently is. His belief in our project and what we are looking to do as a club.

"He is as excited by us as we are by him, which makes for a great relationship, when you appreciate each other's strengths. That is certainly the case here. He thinks we suit him and we believe he is the right fit for us - so let's do it.

"He has all the pieces we look for. He can set a tempo, he brings energy, he can threaten space from central and wide areas. He is aggressive and dynamic with his movement.

"He plays without fear, he's powerful. I know he will excite our supporters.

"It's important we all recognise we are getting a 'work in progress' with Darwin. He recognises that himself, for sure. I love how much focus and humility he has.

"We have wonderful attacking options already and he becomes part of that now. So there is no pressure on him at all. He signs for a very long time and we intend to nurture his talent and see it grow."

Scouse-born right-back and assist king Alexander-Arnold is already thrilled by the news, tweeting 'Welcome to Liverpool! @Darwinn99 How may I assist you?'

The English defender has managed 12 or more assists in his last three Premier League seasons, but his most famous at all came during the Reds' 2019 Champions League win.

A sneaky quick corner helped Liverpool beat Barcelona 4-0 at Anfield after losing the first leg 3-0, with departing striker Divock Origi scoring two of the goals.

The Belgian leaves as a cult hero after continually scoring key goals in big games, and Nunez might be inspired to follow suit after taking Origi's vacant no.27 shirt.

Speaking to the club's website, Nunez made his ambitions clear.

He said: "I'm really happy and delighted to be here at Liverpool. It's a massive club."

"I'd like to thank my partner and my parents and my son, who is a real source of pride for me. They've been really important to me in the stages in my career. I'm really proud of them, and for the work we do, me and my partner, as a team and I'm grateful to her that I'm here.

"It's a pleasure to be here in Liverpool and I'm very happy to be a part of this great club.

"I've played against Liverpool and I've seen them in lots of games in the Champions League, and it's my style of play. There are some great players here and I think it's going to suit my style of play here.

"As I say, I've watched quite a lot and it's a very big club and I hope I can give everything that I've got in order to help the team.

"When I arrived at the training ground, I was really surprised to see the set-up and the structure and all the trophies here.

"You can then imagine yourself winning more trophies and then later on when you come here again and see the trophies on display, you can say, 'Look, I was a part of that, I was there at that time, winning trophies.'

"That's one of the reasons why I came here to Liverpool - to win trophies and titles. I want to win a lot of trophies at Liverpool."

The Uruguayan, who doesn't yet speak English, has already delighted fans by attempting a bit of Scouse.

After explaining how important it was to him to learn the language, Nunez added: "I have got one phrase, 'Boss tha!'"