Darwin Nunez is likely to leave Liverpool this summer, according to reports.placeholder image
Darwin Nunez is likely to leave Liverpool this summer, according to reports. | Getty Images
Liverpool are looking to sell Darwin Nunez but what should they sell the in-demand striker for?
And so it begins...Liverpool now have a decision with regards to what their priorities are this summer over a player who seems set to leave Anfield this summer.
An offer from Napoli for Darwin Nunez has been received and rejected by the Reds with an initial £43m offer rising by another £4.4m potentially if add-ons are achieved.
The deal, which Nunez is reported to have accepted, involves the Uruguay international being paid £100,000 per week in his hand and would free up space for Arne Slot to sign a more clinical striker and fit the missing piece of the jigsaw in an attack that is beginning to take shape.
Who should Liverpool sign to replace Darwin Nunez?
A new centre-half is still an urgent priority though but Nunez and Quansah won’t be the only players sold this summer and there are already three senior players competing for the two starting positions.
With Viktor Gyokeres most likely joining Arsenal and Victor Osimhen closing in on a return to Galatasaray, the striker options are starting to reduce in terms of numbers.
A package has been prepared to sign Alexander Isak, however, Liverpool should keep this one for next summer given that not many teams can afford the Swede. Also, with Newcastle in the Champions League, the last thing they will want to do is sell their star man.
What Liverpool should do, is accept Napoli’s bid to move on a player who doesn’t want to play second fiddle and replace him with a short-term option who would be an invaluable backup to Isak further down the line.
Questions raised about Nunez’s move to Napoli
Speaking on the Italian Football Podcast, Carlo Garganese isn’t so sure that Nunez would be such a good fit for Napoli:
“It's a difficult one, this, because on the one hand, I do trust Conte's...(judgement). If Conte has green lighted this, then that means he feels he can work with him, and he can do something with him, and I'm sure that he'll be good in Conte's system. But I have a...
“I don't see how he, as a backup to (Romelu) Lukaku, how that works, because I don't see how he can be the Lukaku who fends off defenders, holding them off, winning. Do you see what I'm saying? I know he's a big guy, but he's not as strong as that.
“Maybe, okay, he's got more dynamism, and he's quicker than Lukaku, but I suppose everyone is quicker than Lukaku these days. It's not hard to be quicker than Lukaku at this point in his career. He's lost so much dynamism and explosive, the first step when they used to have, when he was at Inter, he was unstoppable.
“But then again, like you said, yes, he is good at certain things, and Conte's eye and how to use him, I don't know.”
Liverpool shouldn't be concerned about what Napoli plan to do with Nunez, they should just be grateful that they are interested and take what they get. If they don’t, Slot wont be able to progress is team, even with the signing of Florian Wirtz.
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