Liverpool would actively encourage Darwin Nunez to leave Anfield in the summer transfer window if Saudi Arabia renew their interest, according to reports.
The Uruguay international joined the Reds from Portuguese side Benfica in the summer of 2022 in a deal worth a potential £85m.
However, things have not gone to plan for Nunez and Liverpool with the Uruguayan striker struggling to hit the ground running in his first few seasons.
Nunez has scored 40 goals in 136 appearances in all competitions over his three campaigns at Anfield with this season his worst since joining Liverpool.
The 25-year-old has scored just seven goals in all competitions as he’s seen himself out of favour under new head coach Arne Slot.
And now Football Transfer journalist Duncan Castles insists that Liverpool “would encourage a move” for Nunez in the summer if the Saudis came knocking again.
Castles said on the latest episode of The Transfers Podcast: “Liverpool would be happy if the Saudis came in and would encourage a move for Nunez. They would like to get some kind of significant return on the initial €75 million that they paid Benfica three years ago.
“From the Saudi perspective, [Nunez] still has that ability to be a name within the Saudi game and to deliver goals with his physicality. Interestingly, I’m told that his girlfriend, Lorena Manas, who is the ex-wife of former Barcelona player Aleix Vidal, has been working with agents to explore opportunities elsewhere.
“So it looks like this is both sides pushing against the same door with Nunez, or at least Nunez’s partner, encouraging him to look for a move and Liverpool happy to sell the player with a strong, affluent potential buyer in Saudi Arabia.”
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There were rumours that Nunez was offered a yearly package of €35m to sign on at Al Nassr in January with the Saudi Pro League side reportedly offering Liverpool €70m (£58m) for the Uruguayan.
Castles added: “I think it underlines the evolution in what the Saudi Arabians are doing with the money. They don’t want to be seen to be using, what is a bigger pool of cash than anyone else has in the sport, stupidly. That’s why they’re targeting players who they feel will deliver immediately in the league and will settle in the league.
“The idea is if you’re gonna make these big investments in the market, make them effectively. Don’t have the rest of the world football laughing at you because you’ve spent hundreds of millions of euros on a player who only bothers to turn out on the field a few times and then has to be paid off to leave.
“They want to be getting the hit rate on these transfers correct, while taking some of the top talent out of European football and just increasing their influence on the world sport.”