Michael Owen names one Liverpool player who could become ‘absolute force’ in the Premier League

Michael Owen knows a thing or two about scoring goals in the Premier League, and thinks there may be a future great on the horizon.

The England legend was a Ballon d’Or winner and Real Madrid Galactico, which saw him line-up alongside many of the game’s greats.

Owen burst onto the scene in 1997 after graduating from Liverpool’s academy, and shocked Anfield with some stunning displays.

Now he’s seen a new potential star who could do the same - current Reds striker Darwin Nunez.

Owen joined talkSPORT with his son James ahead of their TNT Sports documentary on Stargardt disease, and have his expert insight into the enigmatic Uruguayan.

“Nunez is a player that has divided opinion,” he began. “I think he’s very raw in some of his play, but I also think he’s exceptional in some of his play.

“When you think of Liverpool for the future, it’s obviously not going to be with [Mohamed] Salah forever so somebody’s going to have to step up, or they’re going to have to replace him with someone that's going to try and replace his goals.

“This guy [Nunez] is probably the one guy in the team that’s got the scope to be able to do that, I see him developing into an absolute force in the Premier League.

“I still think he could go the other way, I still think he’s not the full package yet, but he does things that absolutely blow your mind.

“He’s so strong, he’s so direct, he’s so quick and he’s got so much ability, if he can just brush up in certain areas he could be the real deal.”

Nunez joined Liverpool in 2022 from Benfica in a deal that could end up at a club record £85million.

Since then he’s thrilled both supporters and neutrals with his unique, and frankly chaotic, style of play.

That hasn’t always resulted in goals, though, with his record of 25 in 73 games showing a need for improvement.

However, in Liverpool’s last match without Salah, the 24-year-old scored twice against Bournemouth in a 4-0 win.

Previous to that he had just one goal in 13 games, but there are other signs of encouragement.

In all competitions this season only Salah (27) has more goal contributions than Nunez’s 20.

On top of that, he’s also the Reds’ top assister this term on 10, showing off the assets that have impressed so many, and kept Jurgen Klopp’s side competing in all four competitions.