They are three expensive strikers all copping their fair share of criticism.

Liverpool‘s £85million frontman Darwin Nunez has been far from ruthless with his finishing.

Manchester United‘s £72m summer arrival Rasmus Hojlund is commended for his effort but the goals aren’t flowing.

Chelsea‘s £32m man Nicolas Jackson went off to the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal with mockery for missing sitters ringing in his ears.

None of the three can be described as totally useless – Nunez has eight goals in all competitions this season, Jackson eight and Hojlund six – but their clubs might reasonably expect more for their outlay.

Rasmus Hojlund rues a missed opportunity for Manchester United during a recent match

Liverpool’s £85million frontman Darwin Nunez hasn’t hit the heights in recent weeks

Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson didn’t cost as much but has also come in for severe criticism

Nunez is clearly important to Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool, starting the majority of matches. The Uruguayan didn’t start in all three of Liverpool’s defeats this season.

But he also has just one goal now in 15 Liverpool outings and was guilty of missing four significant chances in Sunday’s 2-0 FA Cup third round win at Arsenal. This record has to improve.

Danish forward Hojlund once again kept himself busy as Man United beat Wigan in the Cup on Monday but despite the inferior opposition, he couldn’t get on the scoresheet.

Hojlund still has just the one Premier League goal – the winner against Aston Villa on Boxing Day – and that took four months to arrive.

The fact Hojlund is only 20, is new to English football and was effective in the Champions League offers him some protection from severe criticism.

But Roy Keane’s harsh words for the striker on Monday night – ‘create opportunities, put them in the back of the net, stop messing around’ – could be a signal patience is already wearing thin.

Jackson, 22, is also in his first Premier League campaign having signed from Villarreal last summer. His return of seven league goals is far better than Hojlund but he’s been slammed as well.

He continues to squander big chances, not least in Chelsea’s win over Crystal Palace just after Christmas when he dragged wide when clean through on goal with the scores at 1-1.

Jackson received flak on social media for passing up this gilt-edged chance against Palace

Chelsea fans queued up to describe him as ‘the worst striker in the league’ on social media. That is harsh but his habit of missing gilt-edged chances mean the Blues aren’t necessarily that bothered he’s off to the Ivory Coast for a month.

Here’s a closer look at how the trio compare.

 

Goals, assists and expected goals

As mentioned, none of the three are setting the pitch alight at the moment. Jackson and Nunez have scored eight times for their teams across all competitions, while Hojlund has six.

The Man United forward has just the one Premier League goal, with his other five all coming during their ill-fated Champions League group stage.

Nunez has five in the Premier League, one in the Carabao Cup and two in the Europa League for Liverpool, while Jackson has seven Premier League and one Carabao Cup goals for Chelsea.

Man United’s £72m striker Hojlund broke his Premier League duck on Boxing Day

United supporters are desperate to see more of the composure that won the game with Villa

But it’s a sign of how fluid Liverpool’s front line is compared to the other in Nunez also contributing eight assists this season.

Jackson has a couple of assists but Hojlund doesn’t have any, an indication of his role for United which is very much to occupy central positions and await service which doesn’t necessarily come.

In terms of expected goals [xG], Hojlund’s figure of 6.6 is about right, even if it does strongly suggest he isn’t getting enough sights of goals in United’s attack.

Both Jackson [10.6] and especially Nunez [12.0] are underperforming their xG, pointing to sub-standard finishing.

Shooting accuracy

Here we get to the nub of the issue.

The stats, provided by FBref, show that Nunez this season has averaged 4.57 shots per 90 minutes, and a grand total of 83 efforts on goal.

But his shots on target per 90 average is only 1.76, with just 38.6 per cent of his attempts actually hitting the target.

It does confirm what many suspect – the Uruguayan isn’t the most accurate and needs to hone his shooting skills to become more reliable.

Nunez, who could cost Liverpool £85m, was profligate again against Arsenal in the FA Cup

The Uruguayan celebrates Liverpool’s second goal at the Emirates, scored by Luis Diaz

Jackson, by comparison, gets 41.1 per cent of his efforts on target, from a lower sample size of 56 efforts in all games this season. He averages 2.93 shots per 90 minutes.

Hojlund undoubtedly gets fewer opportunities – just 34 shots over the course of a similar number of appearances or 1.86 per 90. His accuracy is 44.1 per cent.

So although Hojlund gets fewer sights of goal, he is more likely to get his effort on target, if not necessarily find the net. The other two are more wayward but at least get more of a sniff.

Chance creation

Another useful measure of Shot Creating Actions, which covers a number of things including passes, take-ons or drawing a foul, as long as it leads to a shot.

Unsurprisingly given the comparative effectiveness of Liverpool’s attack, Nunez tops this with an average of 3.99 Shot Creating Actions per 90 minutes.

It shows a player who’s always involved and constantly scanning for opportunities. 13 of his 62 Shot Creating Actions have resulted in goals, which is way higher than the others [six for Jackson and a mere one for Hojlund].

Jackson, pictured in Chelsea’s win over Luton, is now heading off to the Africa Cup of Nations

The Senegal star has suffered a number of frustrations but has scored eight goals for Chelsea

Jackson is fairly effective – 2.98 Shot Creating Actions per game and he far exceeds the others for willingness to take on an opponent while dribbling.

Hojlund is found wanting, however. His average is 2.20 occasions per match in which his contribution leads to a shot.

The majority of these are passes but it just suggests he isn’t getting involved in United’s link-up play in the attacking third.

Either Erik ten Hag has told him to just concentrate on getting into scoring positions or his all-round attacking game has a long way to develop.

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Passing, duels and discipline

There isn’t much between the three when it comes to pass completion – Jackson leads the way with 79.7 per cent, with Hojlund on 72.8 and Nunez 72.3.

The United frontman has attempted significantly fewer passes which again suggests he doesn’t get the ball to feet enough – 243 attempts to the 345 of Jackson and 347 of Nunez.

They’re all a similar height as well – Hojlund is 6ft 3in, the others 6ft 2in – but the stats show the younger Dane needs time to toughen up a bit more.

His aerial duel win rate stands at 31.5 per cent, with Nunez on 33.3 and Jackson 35.7. So roughly, they win one in three battles in the air with defenders.

There’s quite a big contrast when it comes to discipline – Jackson has picked up eight bookings this season, Nunez six and Hojlund only one. Nobody has been sent off as yet.

Hojlund wasn’t able to find the net despite United dominating against League One Wigan

Jackson has picked up eight bookings so far during his first campaign in the Premier League