Darwin Nunez Moves To Al-Hilal: What Next For Liverpool? | OneFootball

It was quite clear from the end of the season that there was at least one player who was probably surplus to requirements for next season.

Following his £64 million (rising to £85 million with add-ons) move to Liverpool in 2022 from Benfica, a lot was expected from Uruguayan centre-forward Darwin Nunez, though he never really lived up to his potential.

Although fans quickly became frustrated with the number of easy chances he missed, Nunez did finally become liked – especially over the last 12 months – his work ethic in particular pleasing the Anfield faithful.

However, it was clear that Arne Slot wanted an upgrade and saw him as a saleable asset this summer. Despite early reports that the club wanted £70 million – this was a price tag that eventually saw Napoli walk away and look elsewhere.

At the start of this week, it was revealed that Saudi club Al-Hilal were interested and this has since materialised into a relatively modest £46 million move, that may rise to £56.6 million with add-ons.

A Good Move For Nunez?

The fact is that Al-Hilal wanted a striker with the club said to be open to letting Aleksandar Mitrovic leave and 26-year-old Nunez fits the bill.

He’ll do well in the Saudi league – it’s not as though he was desperately keen to move there either – he just wants to play football, so you probably can’t blame him. The wages that he will earn are likely to be considerably more than he was earning at Liverpool, while he should easily be able to rediscover the kind of form he was in at Benfica.

During his time at Liverpool, Nunez scored 40 goals in 143 appearances, though in Portugal he scored a respectable 32 in 57 outings – a stat that alerted the Reds to his potential.

Is A Replacement Needed?

SonoGrazy, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Although Liverpool have signed exciting French attacker Hugo Ekitike, it is still believed that the club wants at least another forward and links persist with increasing frequency to Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak.

The Magpies want £150 million. Liverpool have seen a £110 million bid already rejected – perhaps a little low, considering they paid a British record £116 million for a Premier League unproven Florian Wirtz. A second bid is understood to be being prepared.

It is a move that is looking increasingly likely and, with Liverpool starting to agree sales – Tyler Morton completed his £15 million move to Lyon earlier this week, while Harvey Elliot is attracting interest with the club reportedly demanding between £40-£50 million.

This will all be helpful, though if the Magpies are able to bring in a replacement, then their stance on Isak might loosen slightly and compromise may be reached – likely for around the £130 million mark.

Whether this will round off the club’s business (at least in attack), remains to be seen, though there could be a general feeling among fans, following the sale of Nunez (and Luis Diaz as well), that at least two more forwards are needed.