Report: In-demand Liverpool ace could now have his pick of four clubs; he’s ‘expected to leave’ | OneFootball

One in-demand Liverpool player could have his pick of four clubs this summer if he’s to leave Anfield in the next six weeks.

Earlier this week, Fabrizio Romano reported (via X) that Napoli had pulled out of a potential deal for Darwin Nunez as they considered the Reds’ asking price to be excessive, although the 26-year-old is still ‘expected to leave’ despite the Serie A champions ending their pursuit of him.

Yesterday, we exclusively reported for Empire of the Kop that Al-Hilal are prepared to offer the Uruguayan a gargantuan pay packet of €20m-€25m (£17.3m-£21.7m) per year, along with meeting the Merseysiders’ reported valuation of €70m (£60.7m), and Simone Inzaghi’s side are far from alone in their interest.

Nunez has transfer interest from four clubs

According to CaughtOffside, three other clubs are ready to make a move for Liverpool’s number 9 in the current transfer window.

The ‘strongest interest’ comes from Saudi Pro League duo Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr, while Barcelona and AC Milan are also monitoring Nunez’s situation and lining up a possible swoop for him.

The Reds are open to selling the 26-year-old but will rigidly stick to their asking price of just over £60m, which’d effectively cancel out their initial £64m investment (before add-ons) when they signed him from Benfica three years ago.

(Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images)

Can Liverpool afford to sell Nunez without bringing in another striker?

With Liverpool having opened negotiations with Eintracht Frankfurt for Hugo Ekitike and ready to bid £120m or more for Alexander Isak, Richard Hughes is obviously on the lookout for a marquee centre-forward addition, which could spell bad news for our current number 9.

Nunez has had a difficult few months on the pitch at Anfield, scoring only seven times in 47 appearances last season and consistently being omitted from the starting XI, with natural winger Luis Diaz often preferred as the focal point in attack.

The Uruguayan may justifiably feel that he doesn’t want to be consigned to the role of supersub by Arne Slot for the forthcoming campaign, although the Reds’ centre-forward options have been curtailed by the tragic death of Diogo Jota at the start of this month.

At present, Liverpool can’t really afford to part with their number 9, although the scope to do so may increase if either Ekitike or Isak were to join.

LFC may be more inclined to sell Nunez to a Saudi suitor in order to avoid coming up against him in the UEFA Champions League, provided that an interested club can meet our asking price for him, and the circumstances are right to cash in. For now, that isn’t the case.