Darwin Nunez has reportedly approved a transfer to Napoli as Liverpool work on selling the Uruguayan. Arne Slot used him sparingly last campaign and there is talk of the Reds bringing in a new striker to bolster their forward line.
Nunez has retained high-level admirers in Europe despite failing to live up to his £85million price tag across three seasons at Anfield. The 25-year-old piled in 26 league goals with Benfica in 2021/22, but has not managed any more than 11 in a single campaign during his time on Merseyside. The last time Nunez played more than 45 minutes in a Liverpool game was at the beginning of March as last term petered out in disappointing circumstances – at least on an individual level.
With Slot’s mind seemingly made up, Nunez seems certain to find a new club during the current window. According to Sky Sports in Italy, he is one of the two main candidates Napoli are looking to sign for Antonio Conte.
One of them is Lorenzo Lucca. But the Udinese striker’s arrival would not spark the same excitement among fans of Gli Azzurri as Nunez’s would, given that he was viewed as one of the top forwards in Europe when he joined Liverpool three years ago.
The price is reportedly a big sticking point, however. Liverpool want a total package worth £60m, with £55m of that paid as a guaranteed fee and the other £5m made up of add-ons.
Napoli may have that kind of cash to spend later this summer if they manage to offload Victor Osimhen. But it is unclear whether they would be willing to blow their windfall on a player who was off their game last season, and whose finishing sparked criticism throughout his time in the Premier League.
Nunez giving the green light to Napoli and moving one step closer to the Anfield exit door means the stars are closer to aligning for Liverpool to make an audacious move for Alexander Isak.
Club chiefs are believed to be huge fans of the Newcastle United striker, who surpassed 20 goals in each of his last two Premier League seasons.
It would reportedly take a whopping £150m to lure him away from St. James’ Park – a tall order considering Liverpool have just agreed a £116m deal to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen. But the sale of a valuable asset like Nunez would give them more wiggle room and create a vacancy in Slot’s squad, making a swoop for Isak more likely.