Darwin Nunez could yet leave Liverpool this summer despite Napoli moving on from the forward as one of their Serie A rivals enter talks for the former Benfica star
AC Milan have made contact with the representatives of Darwin Nunez as they eye a deal for the Liverpool forward. The Italian giants are said to have made the Uruguay international their top target for the final weeks of the transfer window.
Nunez has been widely expected to leave Anfield this summer and the arrival of Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz would appear to have left him further down Arne Slot’s pecking order. Liverpool retain an interest in Newcastle star Alexander Isak too and have seen a bid turned down for the Premier League striker.
If the Reds are successful in landing the Sweden, Nunez’s position would appear to be even more untenable. But thus far, Liverpool have not been able to find an agreement with any suitors for the former Benfica forward’s signature.
Napoli turned their attention elsewhere after being unable to find an agreement with the Reds’ hierarchy. Antonio Conte instead added Lorenze Lucca to his side from Udinese on loan, with an obligation to buy for the forward for €26millon (£22.7m).
But their Serie A rivals may yet afford Liverpool an opportunity to offload Nunez, who they signed in a deal worth £85m including potential add-ons. Milan are noted to be making a serious attempt to provide Max Allegri with a new forward with Arnaud Kalimuendo, Dusan Vlahovic and Rasmus Hojlund shortlisted alongside Darwin, per Sky Sports in Italy.
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The Reds striker, 26, did not feature in his side’s friendly against Milan but came off the bench days later against Yokohoma FM. Nunez scored in the team’s first two friendlies of the summer against Preston and Stoke City too.
Slot’s emphasis appeared to be on building the attacker’s fitness rather than considering life without him, having also revealed Luis Diaz’s absence against Milan was due to transfer speculation, before he eventually departed.
“In Darwin’s situation, he has trained really well and played a few good games for us already this pre-season,” said Slot said last week. “He was injured so we didn’t want to take the risk.
“It was also the same with Wata (Endo) — trained with us all week but we didn’t want to take a risk with him either. It is part of pre-season, the boys need to get towards match fitness and that is a thin balance, a thin line sometimes.”
A fresh offer from the Saudi Arabia is also awaited, with Al-Hilal claimed to have opened talks with the player and his representatives regarding a move. But the only bid for Nunez so far this summer has been from Napoli.
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