Game over for major Liverpool star at Anfield as second reliable source confirms exit expected

A second reliable source has confirmed it’s now highly likely Liverpool will sell Darwin Nunez, and how much the Reds expect to collect and where he’ll go have come to light.

Nunez cost £64m (rising to £85m) when signed from Benfica in the summer of 2022. The Uruguayan has rarely lacked for effort when wearing a Liverpool shirt, though question marks remain over his technical ability, interplay and finishing.

Nunez was centre of attention on Wednesday night after spurning a golden opportunity to put Liverpool in front against Aston Villa.

Speaking in the aftermath of the 2-2 draw, Liverpool boss Arne Slot claimed Nunez’s ‘behaviour’ after his big miss was unacceptable.

“I would prefer him to score but the word ‘chance’ says it all,” said Slot. “It’s a chance so it’s not 100 per cent sure that the ball goes in, and players miss chances.

“That I can accept but what was a bit harder for me to accept was his behaviour after that chance. I think it got too much in his head, where he wasn’t the usual Darwin that works his a** off and makes sure he helps the team.

“I think he was too disappointed after missing that chance and maybe – we will never know, we will never find out – that’s why he was just a fraction short the moment afterwards [when he had another chance to round an onrushing Emiliano Martinez or square to Mohamed Salah].”

The Villa miss summed Nunez’s Anfield career up and had Liverpool been able to sign a suitable replacement in January, it might never have happened.

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano recently revealed Liverpool came ‘very close’ to selling Nunez to Al-Nassr in the winter window.

Both clubs as well as Nunez were on board with the move before Liverpool pulled the plug in the final stages.

The club’s reasoning why was twofold: they were in four competitions at the time and didn’t believe any of their summer targets could be signed six months early.

As such, the decision was made to abort the sale to ensure Slot wasn’t deprived of an extra body in the second half of the season.

But per a subsequent update from Romano, the strong expectation is Nunez will complete a move to Saudi Arabia at the second time of asking in the summer.

And per the latest from The Athletic’s Liverpool expert, James Pearce, a Nunez sale IS on the cards.

Pearce wrote: ‘The former Benfica striker has regressed rather than kicked on in his third season at Anfield and a parting of the ways looks increasingly likely come the summer.’

Liverpool set price for Darwin Nunez sale

According to a separate piece from TBR Football, Liverpool will demand a minimum of £60m before accepting Nunez’s sale.

As mentioned, Nunez cost an initial £64m to sign, with add-ons taking the final fee up to £85m.

Per reports in Portugal at the time of Nunez’s transfer from Benfica, two parts of the add-ons related to appearance targets.

A payment of £4.3m was due when Nunez made 10 appearances, with a further £8.5m paid after his appearance count hit 60.

Nunez has surpassed both of those targets, meaning Liverpool’s cost of signing Nunez has already risen to £76.8m. The remainder of the add-ons relate to individual and team objectives and it’s unclear whether those have been triggered.

In any case, what is clear is Nunez can go for roughly £60m and a move to the Saudi Pro League is expected.

The club who bid in January, Al-Nassr, ultimately went on to sign Jhon Duran from Aston Villa instead.

However, both Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad are understood to be viable alternatives for Liverpool’s misfiring forward.

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