Liverpool are holding out for a massive fee to sell Darwin Nunez to Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Hilal with the player ready to say farewell to Anfield.
Yesterday, we covered a report from journalist Santi Aouna, who claimed that Nunez is open to joining Al-Hilal, first contact had been established but an official bid to Liverpool had not been made.
But now, Simon Jones of the Daily Mail has provided more details as the deal has progressed somewhat since yesterday.
Al-Hilal are operating on a time crunch with the Saudi club required to get all signings done by end of today in order for them to be eligble for the FIFA Club World Cup.
Now, you might wonder why having Nunez at the tournament is so important but when you consider the £100m prizee for the club that wins FIFA’s newly revamped Club World Cup tournament, it begins to make a lot more sense.
So, what are Liverpool are demanding in order to sell Darwin Nunez today?
Simon Jones reports for the Daily Mail that Liverpool want in excess of £70m for Nunez “as they listen to offers this summer.”
One misconception that fans online seem to have is that Liverpool have a price for European clubs and a higher price for Saudi clubs. No. They have their £70m valuation and that’s that.
Liverpool could have received their £70m asking price in January when Al-Hilal last came knocking but the Reds rejected the approach. Now, Liverpool want more than the £70m bid they receivedd six months ago.
Jones reports: “A number of clubs are showing interest in Nunez but Al Hilal are weighing up a bid today after failing, so far, to tempt Victor Osimhen.
“Al Nassr, meanwhile, are keen Liverpool’s Luis Diaz but the only club to have made contact so far for the Colombian winger are Barcelona.”
It will be interesting to see what happens tonight
Tonight’s deadline for clubs to register players for the FIFA Club World Cup means that Al-Hilal either need to accept that they won’t be signing Nunez or accept that they will have to pay what Liverpool want.
With Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes spearheading recruitment together, fans should expect to see Liverpool sell Nunez for more than they could have imagined was possible.