The Liverpool career of Darwin Nunez is over after the Premier League champions had agreed a £ 53 million deal to sell him to Al-Hilal.
The Uruguay International will move to the Saudi Pro League, after he made it clear before the Liverpool officials earlier in the summer that he saw his future away from Anfield.
Nunez had asked to leave Liverpool in January when he was again interested in Saudi Aarabia, but they made the decision to hold him for the rest of the campaign, so that he could play a role in the successful title follow -up.
Liverpool had received an offer from Napoli for Nunez in June, but it was immediately rejected because the Italian champions proposed a fee of just over £ 45 million that would be paid in installments – that would not start until the summer of 2026.
NUNEZ, to his honor, returned to the training with Liverpool with a positive approach and his performances in the preseason are encouraging because he scored many goals, including a hat trick behind closed doors against Stoke.
However, it was clear that Nunez would struggle for regular starts and Liverpool has structured a deal with Al-Hilal who will see them earning a number of bonuses when he thrives in his new club.
When Nunez arrived in 2022, Liverpool Benfica paid a guaranteed £ 75 million and the compensation would have risen to a then club record £ 84 million if he was well.
His start was encouraging, with goals against Manchester City in the Community Shield and Fulham during his Premier League debut, but things changed when he was sent to his Anfield debut against Crystal Palace.
He remained a popular figure with supporters and his contributions were important last season, not least with his double in Brentford in January who was critical in shaping the outcome of the title race.
Liverpool will now double their efforts to bring in a new striker, with Alexsander Isak from Newcastle, the desired target. However, it is understood, Liverpool will only pursue a movement if a target represents the fair market value and is realistic feasible.
The attitude of Newcastle around Isak, which stays with Loggerheads with St James's Park Top Brass, means that there is no forgotten case that the Sweden International will get its desired switch.