My feelings for Nunez ran the polar opposite to most of you. I was not impressed by him when we played Benfica and couldn’t understand why we were interested. He lacked composure, he was too unpredictable and didn’t seem to link-up too well with teammates.
I was unhappy when we signed him, particularly for the amount we paid. IMO he was worth about £40m maximum.
As his career progressed I became a fan. I loved his work ethic and enthusiasm despite the obvious flaws in his game. His goal/assist record for us is respectable and I loved the fact that he never hid; no matter how many chances he missed he was always in the box trying to get on the end of things.
Too many forwards these days are “cowards” who don’t put themselves in the six-yard box but hide away outside the box (looking at the Arsenal duo Havertz and Jesus as examples) for fear of missing chances. I’d much rather have a Nunez-type player who is where he should be.
We overpaid badly for him but Nunez didn’t set the fee so can’t be blamed. He was a £40m player and IMO still is a £40m player but a very good one.
I hope he goes on to have a very good career.