‘First contact’: Liverpool braced as 25-y/o opens transfer talks; he’s ‘open’ to move | OneFootball

Liverpool have set a solid example to the rest of the Premier League with their dealings in the market in recent years.

Yes, the Reds have come under fire for a perceived unwillingness to spend big to compete with the financial might of Manchester City.

However, their pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen playmaker Florian Wirtz should now put any such debate to bed.

The Merseysiders are not only prepared to put their money where their mouth is, but also break a club record in doing so.

That said, this doesn’t hint at the abandonment of Liverpool’s commitment to sustainability. Arne Slot’s men will still be required to engage in some selling to fund further spending.

The Saudi Pro League is interested in Darwin Nunez

(Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

It will come as no surprise to fans that the Saudi Pro League is taking a long, hard look at Darwin Nunez.

At 25 years of age, the Uruguayan striker fits perfectly within the league’s refreshed target parameters. It’s out with the old and in with the new, so to speak, with Saudi outfits now focusing on players either in their prime years or yet to enter this desired stage.

More to the point, Andy Hunter at The Guardian has confirmed that Liverpool are somewhat open to selling Nunez.

On that note, Foot Mercato journalist Santi Aouna has now claimed on X (formerly Twitter) that Al-Hilal have made ‘first contact’ with the Liverpool man’s camp.

This follows an earlier report from Foot Mercato asserting that both Nunez and Luis Diaz form part of a shortlist of top attackers.

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Why selling Nunez suits Liverpool

Look, we’ve all massively enjoyed watching Darwin Nunez at Anfield. The former Benfica hitman’s brand of unrefined chaos was undoubtedly exciting to witness in Jurgen Klopp’s last two seasons in charge.

Unfortunately for the centre-forward, he’s looked a little exposed in Arne Slot’s more technically demanding system.

Even more terminally, as far as his Liverpool career is concerned, Nunez has come under fire for a lack of goals and, at times, limited work rate.

Five Premier League goals scored – in amongst 14 goal contributions in all competitions in 2024/25 – in 1,118 minutes simply isn’t good enough for a Liverpool striker.

In fact, a rate of 223.6 minutes for every Premier League goal puts our No.9 behind:

The Mo Salah reality

In Nunez’s defence, the team is built to get Mo Salah on the ball in dangerous areas (and cutting down the Egyptian’s commitment to defensive duties).

Nonetheless, we don’t think this is a good enough excuse for a footballer who’s now had three seasons at Liverpool.

We’re not expecting a striker to replicate the Egyptian’s numbers, which are ludicrous in of themselves. But we need more.

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