Liverpool has supposedly set its asking price for Uruguayan striker Darwin Nunez. The South American has found it challenging to meet expectations at Anfield following his transfer from Benfica in 2022.
Despite a promising start at Anfield, the 26-year-old netted just five Premier League goals last season after falling out of favor under Arne Slot. It now seems that he might be heading for the exit door amid interest from Antonio Conte's Napoli, who are set to sell Victor Osimhen to Galatasaray.
The Italian Serie A champion has expressed interest in acquiring Nunez's services during the summer transfer window. Given this interest, Liverpool appears ready to take a financial hit on Nunez to facilitate his departure.
According to the Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport, the Reds are prepared to let Nunez go for approximately $95 million (£70 million) — not that much less than the $115 million (£85 million) they shelled out to bring him to England three years ago.
While Napoli is not prepared to meet this asking price, it remains interested. Reports suggest that Napoli's president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, is personally handling negotiations, with Udinese's Lorenzo Lucca viewed as a potential alternative.
Meanwhile, Nunez still has three years remaining on his contract at Anfield. He fell down the pecking order last season and Florian Wirtz will only add to the competition for places in attack.
Darwin Nunez of Liverpool during a training session at AXA Training Centre
Darwin Nunez of Liverpool during a training session at AXA Training Centre (Image: 2025 Liverpool FC)
Earlier this year, Liverpool manager Slot was compelled to dismiss claims that Nunez's limited playing time last season was due to a clause in his contract that would have required Liverpool to pay an additional $6.8 million (£5.0 million) to Benfica.
He queried: "Do you always believe what journalists say? Not always? Me neither. Sometimes you should, but sometimes it's better not to believe everything that is written about players.
"This is completely new to me and I've said many times that I'm working at a club here where it's really nice to work.
"So mainly sporting directors are judged by the players they bring in, for me it's very important to have a great working environment and I have that with Richard (Hughes)."
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"The last, last, last, last, last thing he would do, as I expect working with him for 10 months, is tell me: 'If you play him it would cost us this much'.
"That, he would never, never, never do. I don't even know if it's true, yes or no, because we never talk about that. He never interferes with a line-up. It might be true, but if a journalist says it we have to..... (take it with a pinch of salt)."
Liverpool.com says: Nunez didn't play as often as he would have wanted last season. It probably makes sense for him to move on, as a result, for the good of his career, and Napoli would be a good landing spot.
Liverpool is right to look for a large fee for him, though. Whether it ends up being close to what was given to Benfica remains to be seen, but Nunez is more than capable of moving to another league and excelling. He definitely has talent.