Darwin Nunez has attracted interest from Saudi club Al Hilal in the summer transfer window.
The chief executive of Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal has insisted that he won’t overpay for transfers this summer amid interest in Darwin Nunez.
The Liverpool striker is expected to depart Anfield this summer after three stuttering years. Arriving from Benfica for an initial £64 million, Nunez has struggled for consistency at the Reds and he started just eight Premier League games during the title-winning season.
What’s been said
However, speaking to BBC Sport, Esteve Calzada warned that they will not be held to ransom despite the vast wealth in the Saudi Pro League. He said: "We are targeting the biggest players. We are very ambitious, but we need to see hunger from the player himself and the transaction needs to work out both ways.
"The only thing we've been trying to remind players and agents is that yes, we are from Saudi, but we don't print notes here! My role as CEO is to make sure we run the club efficiently, so that we can have the biggest budget possible to have big players, but not at any cost. That's why sometimes we basically walk away from negotiations, because we still want players extremely keen on coming, and not only looking for the money."
Al-Hilal were linked with signing Nunez during the mini transfer window before the Club World Cup. Calzada added: “We've been trying to see if we can reinforce the team. But some players were with a mindset of 'holidays already', some players were sometimes just asking for too much money, and we're aware that our team is extremely competitive. We'll go into the traditional transfer window after the tournament still with the biggest ambitions to see if we can reinforce the team even more.”
Liverpool potential exits
Liverpool are set for a busy summer transfer window. They have already signed Jeremie Frimpong and Giorgi Mamardashvili from Bayer Leverkusen and Valencia respectively. In addition, the Reds have agreed to sign Florian Wirtz from Leverkusen for a club-record £100 million fee, while AFC Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez is closing in on a switch.
But attention will soon turn to outgoings, with several fringe players potentially departing along with Nunez. Harvey Elliott started only one league game and the impending arrival of Wirtz has cast his future into further doubt. Federico Chiesa and Jarell Quansah also rarely featured en route to the Premier League title.
Surprisingly, Andy Robertson could bring the curtain down on his eight-year Anfield stay. With Kerkez set to join, Robertson has become a target for Spanish outfit Atletico Madrid. The Scotland international has a year remaining on his contract.
Liverpool have already sold Caoimhin Kelleher to Brentford for £18 million, while they earned £10 million from allowing Trent Alexander-Arnold to join Real Madrid early to compete in the Club World Cup.
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