3 days ago
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Liverpool could pocket as much as £56 million ($75.3 million) from the sale of Darwin Nunez, following confirmation of his transfer to the Saudi Pro League.
After three years at Anfield, the Uruguay international has agreed to join Al-Hilal, a club that has long been interested in him. The Reds have struck a deal with the Saudi outfit that guarantees them a fee of £46 million ($61.9 million), with the potential to earn an additional £10 million ($13.4 million) should certain add-ons be met.
The accepted offer is roughly £4 million ($5.4 million) less than a verbal bid from another Saudi Pro League team, Al-Nassr, which was turned down during the January transfer window.
At the time, Liverpool chose to keep its squad intact to aid their ultimately triumphant Premier League title campaign, recognizing that summer valuations are often slightly lower than mid-season ones.
Earlier in the summer, Napoli had a bid for Nunez rejected, while AC Milan also expressed interest in the player.
It's believed that Liverpool was taken aback when Newcastle United didn't consider a move for the striker, given its urgent need for attacking additions.
This transfer takes Liverpool's earnings from this summer alone to £181 million ($243.4 million), a figure that could potentially rise to a maximum of £202 million ($271.7 million) if all the add-on clauses are fulfilled.
They have committed to spending more than $300 million on players during this transfer window.
Liverpool will now focus its efforts on finding a replacement for Nunez, with Newcastle's Alexander Isak remaining its primary striking target.
Reds manager Arne Slot avoided questions about Isak during his press conference on Friday ahead of Sunday's Community Shield encounter against Crystal Palace at Wembley, which Liverpool lost on penalties.
"As you know, from me and I think every manager works like this, you never talk about players that are not yours," Slot said of Isak. "I can talk about Hugo (Ekitike), who we have signed and done really well until now.
"We are very happy with the squad and have every reason to be happy because we won the league last season. Okay, players left but we brought players in as well and youngsters are doing good.
"At this moment of time, Darwin might leave, indeed, but things are not signed so we need to wait a few days until that is completely done but there is indeed a chance he is going to leave."
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