Darwin Nunez greeted the head as they sang his name, danced in the Aprilzon and celebrated with a cigar and beer in hand when Liverpool was crowned Premier League champions in April.
It is proof of Uruguayan's Mercurial Talent that this is not the end he would have longed for, now coupled with a move from Anfield.
After three memorable years on Merseyside, the 26-year-old is expected to leave the club in search of a new start and more favorable goals conditions. Adjusted by supporters for his sincere playing style, the best Liverpool moments from Nunez could be comfortable in highlights that belonged to the world's most gifted center-forwards.
Nevertheless, he seems to be on his way to the exit that has not realized the abundant promise that was shown from Benfica to Liverpool to Liverpool before a club record £ 85 million compensation in 2022.
Nunez scored seven goals in 47 performances last season, sent to a bit part under Arne Slot, which criticized the “work effort” of the attacker. He was able to leave Anfield halfway through his six -year contract for a considerably lower price.
Serie A champions Napoli have shown interest in his signature and are willing to pay £ 47.3 million for the rush hour. But the Italian club will decide to continue with a relocation for Nunez only once a deal for Victor Osimhen has been completed with Galatasaray.
The Turkish title winners have agreed to pay Napoli £ 64.6 million – the value of the Osimhen release clause – for the Nigerian striker, but the negotiations are underway with regard to payment conditions and personal conditions must still be agreed with the player.
Nunez would certainly enjoy the chance to work under serial winner Antonio Conte, who led the club to only his second Scudetto in 35 years when they separated Inter Milan in a hard -fought title race that extended to the last game week of the season.
In winning Serie A for the fifth time, the Italian tactician became the first manager to win the competition with three clubs, which Juventus had previously led to successive successes from 2012 to 2014, before limiting the triumphant's Titlebod of Inter Milan in 2021.
“Napoli, as a team and as individual players, is doing so well because of Conte,” Sky explains Valentina Fass in Italy.
“At the moment, Napoli has a really good group of players and they are mentally happy and relaxed. This is why players who come in often do well there, and it is because of the way Conte has organized the team.
“The secret element is the way Conte treats his players when they arrive; he lets them feel really important and just like one of the most important parts of the team. For example, with Scott Mctominay he said:” You are the most important element of midfield “.”
For proof of conte's management capacity, NUNEZ should not look beyond the rapid climb of McTominay from an unpendacular midfield option at Manchester United to the advanced, box-crashing goalscorer that lightsed the Serie A last season.
Conte's daring decision to reproduce the 28-year-old from a defensive Nutsman into a creative attacking threat was justified because the Scot was called the most valuable player of the division, who had scored 12 goals and had delivered four assists in 34 games.
The Italian manager has the reason to have the feeling that he can take a similar amount of untouched potential from Nunez, whose unpolished finish has become a relevant Achilles heel. In each of his last three seasons with Liverpool, the attacker has the understood in relation to his expected goals (XG) total.
Alarm bells start to ring when you look at the statistics. Nunez has scored 25 Premier League goals in 95 performances, but he has collected an XG of 33. That means that the Uruguayan has wasted eight goals during his time in Anfield – but why would Napoli buy a striker that cost his silk equipment instead of a player who performs better than their XG?
The biggest draw of the 26-year-old is perhaps that he is still incredibly raw. Liverpool supporters present in Brentford in January, when Nunez struck twice to earn the Slot's side, a dramatic 2-0 victory will be responsible for not being continuous when he is on his brilliant best.
Those who are critical about the attacker will claim that he is almost often not at his best to justify a start spot in a team that competes with Europe's elite. But with a view of the whimsical finish of Nunez, his XG figures are indicative of a striker with an eye for goal who consistently takes threatening target positions.
If Nunez can find the end product to match his instinctive movement, he will be ready to follow in the footsteps of various former Premier League players who have brought their career to the next level in Naples. A large part of Napoli's success can be credited to their smart recruitment of football players flying under the radar in the top layer of England.
Billy Gilmour was introduced by the club from Brighton last summer to partner his international teammate McTominay, while midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguisissa excelled in Napoli after a spell in Fulham.
Former Chelsea and Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku, however, was perhaps the most controversial player who was introduced last summer as part of Conte's Premier League-Inval, when he was rescued from a doomed second spell on Stamford Bridge for £ 30 million, and Nunez should be encouraged by his goals A.
For the second consecutive season, the Belgian double digits in Italy when his 14 league goals Napoli hit the title Schoten, and during the 2023/24 season he found the back of the Net 13 times about a fertile loan say in Roma.
Although Lukaku has shown few signs of delay, the Center-Forward at 32 is one of the most senior options in the club, and it is expected that Napoli will sign a younger striker to lead the next campaign.
If Nunez has to be the successor to Lukaku, the Uruguayan has little reason to be stunned by the old guard. While Lukaku left marginal last season his expected goals per 90 minutes (+0.03) and NUNEZ remained somewhat behind (-0.06), the underlying figures suggest that they are effective in the same way when the opportunities come on their way.
Fass explained: “Conte would never stay in a club that he thinks can't win, so he must have faith in the Napoli project. Fans know that a great striker will arrive and they are really enthusiastic about it.”
The chance for Nunez to start next season as the first-choice striker at a club that are fighting for major awards, can be a happy postponement after a tough campaign, but a based on confidence that he can recapture his best form.
In Naples, with the guidance of Conte, NUNEZ could be the newest of the outcast of the Premier League and overlooked to be released from their buoys and be released on Serie A.