Club FINALLY willing to pay Liverpool's Darwin Nunez asking price | OneFootball

Darwin Nunez's departure from Merseyside has been confirmed. There is little-to-no chance that he will still be a Liverpool player next season. We just don't know who he'll be sold to this summer.

That much remains a mystery as Liverpool continue to stand firm on their asking price while the potential suitors attempt to figure out a financial strategy that makes the move plausible.

Currently, the £70m bid that was made for him from Saudi Arabia in January remains the closest approach we have seen anyone make to what Liverpool are hoping for, although that was of course rejected at the time - not because the offer was insufficient, rather due to its mid-season timing.

Now, however, the club are actively looking to sell and the hope is that a new approach will be made.

Napoli and Liverpool remain split in negotiations

One club that are hopeful of a deal is Napoli, who look the most likely to sign him, but differences in estimations of the players' value is causing negotiations to lengthen with no productive end in sight.

Liverpool will want to make sure that they get as much for Nunez as possible, after a failed £77m move, and so while the player might prefer a move elsewhere, other options will be considered.

The main alternative is a move to Saudi Arabia, as the Middle-Eastern clubs are still fond of the player and the finances they have available are far more appealing to Liverpool's wants and needs.

According to Graeme Bailey at TBR Football: "Liverpool have made it clear that they want to recoup at least £70m from the sale of Darwin Nunez. The Reds have already held talks with the Saudi Pro League about Nunez and they indicated that they would be prepared to pay a substantial fee..."

As such, the answer to this conundrum might seem simple. Sell him to Al Hilal or another Saudi club.

Well, if only that was how things worked. Nunez's priority is to continue his career playing in Europe, and options such as Juventus, AC Milan, Atletico Madrid and Napoli are going to allow him to play in the Champions League and to compete at the highest level - in one of Europe's top five leagues.

So we're back to looking at whether anyone in Europe can feasibly afford to buy him from the Reds.

Liverpool might be willing to agree to a certain amount of compromise, they could easily push for the £70m that was offered previously, and the opportunity to receive that sum from elsewhere is huge.

Moreover, the Serie A winners will need to get their chequebook out. Liverpool continue to hold all the cards in negotiations, but potential suitors may withdraw their interest if there's no progress soon.