Darwin Nunez made his Premier League debut on August 6th, 2022, against Fulham F.C. It took him 65 minutes to score his first Premier League goal for the club, and despite putting on an amazing performance, Liverpool could only manage a 2-2 draw, with Mo Salah (last season’s Golden Boot winner) also scoring in the 80th minute.
New Manchester City arrival Erling Haaland managed to score both goals in the team’s 2-nil win against West Ham United at the London Stadium. Although it’s early days yet, some people are already asking the question; Is Nunez Ready to Compete with Haaland and Salah for the Premier League Golden Boot?
What is the Golden Boot?
The Premier League Golden Boot is a Football Association award handed out at the end of each Premier League season to the player who scores the most goals in the league. In the 2021/21 season, the trophy went to Mohammed Salah of Liverpool AND Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur. Both strikers managed to net a total of 23 goals in 35 appearances.
Who is Darwin Núñez?
The 23-year-old was born in Artigas, Uruguay, in June 1999. He began his senior career playing for Peñarol from 2017-2019 and then played 30 games for Almería from 2019-20 before joining Benfica and scoring 32 goals in 57 appearances between 2020-2022. He hit the headlines in June 2022 when the club reached an agreement with Liverpool F.C. to join the Merseyside club for a whopping €75 million transfer fee plus €25 million in add-ons.
He made his debut for Liverpool in the F.A. Community Shield against Manchester City at the King Power Stadium, beating their rivals 3-1. For those of you who will be wanting to see what he can do this year, don’t forget that you can buy Liverpool tickets here.
Previous Golden Boot winners
One of the most famous Golden Boot winners is French international and former Arsenal F.C. player Thierry Henry, who won the coveted award an unprecedented four times (during the 2001/02, 2003/04, 2004/05, and 2005/06 campaigns). Other notable winners include Harry Kane, Mo Salah, and Alan Shearer (three times winners), and also Didier Drogba, Jimmy Floyd Hasslebaink, Michael Owen, and Robin Van Persie (two-time winners).
Can Darwin Núñez win the Golden Boot in his first season?
It’s still far too early to say yet whether Darwin Núñez can win the Golden Boot. However, many of today’s top sports betting sites currently have him as one of the favourites to win the accolade. For example, at some websites, he’s priced at around 1/20 in fractional odds (which is 1.05 in decimal odds and -2,000 in American/Moneyline odds) to win.
In comparison, Mo Salah and Harry Kane are both priced at 1/200 (1.005 or -20,000) to win the Golden Boot for the 2022/23 season. Núñez also has the same odds as last year’s winner, Son Heung-min. Some of the other players that may also be worth a flutter are Patrick Bamford, Jamie Vardy, Raheem Sterling, Aleksandar Mitrovic, and Gabriel Jesus, as well as Kevin De Bruyne, Ivan Toney, Luis Diaz, Bruno Fernandes, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
