There was much hype around Krisztian Nemeth when he was bought from MTK Hungaria in the summer of 2007. Before his move to the Reds he had scored 18 goals during the 2006/07 season for MTK, helping them to a second place finish in the Hungarian Championship, and he also excelled at the 2006 U-17 European championships with Hungary after which he was named the young Hungarian player of the year. Rafa Benitez decided to take on both him and his fellow striker Andras Simon and he was tipped to be a huge success at Liverpool.
His future looked promising during his first season at the club. After a late start to his first season at the club due to injuries and international commitments, Nemeth made his debut for the Liverpool reserves in November 2007. He did not take long to make an impression as he scored two on his debut against Manchester City reserves in a 3-2 win, following up his successful first outing by scoring another brace against Everton in the mini Merseyside derby. He finished top scorer for the reserves in his first season, scoring nine goals, sealing the reserve league title with a goal against Aston Villa in 2008. The 2008/09 season was not so happy for the young Hungarian though as injuries hampered his appearances in the reserves, and he was sidelined until the end of 2008. To get him first team experience, he was loaned out to Championship side Blackpool but he broke his cheekbone on his debut and returned to the Reds to finish the season in the reserves.
Last campaign started off more promisingly for the Hungarian and he was part of the Switzerland/Asia tour at the start of last summer’s pre-season. The highlight of the trip for the player was a 5-0 win over Singapore where he got on the score sheet. Despite a good pre-season, it was though it was better for the player to gain more first team experience and he was loaned out to Greek Super League side AEK Athens. Again, he had a promising start and put in a great display on his debut as he came on as a first half substitute against Atromitos to provide an excellent assist for Ismael Blanco to score the only goal of the game. He would score three goals on his loan spell, featuring in every match until Christmas. An ankle injury though kept the player out for several months, and once again injuries hampered his chances of establishing himself as a first team regular. Despite this though, AEK fans believe Nemeth has been a good player for them over the season, providing a greater number of assists than goals, including on his return from injury against Asteras Tripolis where he provided both assists in a 2-0 home win, ensuring AEK went into the play-offs.
Just from his loan spell alone you can tell the 21 year old has talent. He certainly plays with a lot of flair and has a great deal of pace. His ability to turn defenders and find space is ideal for any goalscorer, and for a player who is below 6ft he is also decent in the air. Like all finishers, he has that key attribute to be at the right place at the right time, while having the skill to provide assists for others. A crucial element of his game is to drop deep to find space and offer his services for balls in at feet, making incisive through balls for others before getting into the penalty area to be on the end of any delivery.
His talents have convinced many that he can make it at the top level and after making his way through the youth teams at international level, he has recently made his debut for the senior team. After impressing for Hungary as they finished third in the U-20 World Cup early last season, Nemeth was given his full debut for Hungary in May during a 3-0 defeat by Germany. He has yet to be really given the chance although injuries have really limited his chances of getting a first team opportunity, and now with Lecce offering £1million for the player, according to the Daily Mail, Nemeth may well be leaving Anfield this summer.
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youve obviously never seen him play pace is the one thing he lacks
nemeth is what you call a goal poacher a poor mans robbie fowler if you like, he will score goals anywhere if he is used right. it is a crime to sell him without giving him a chance, i would have been a lot more confident if it was nemeth coming on when we needed a goal instead of ngog last season.