Liverpool pushing flop to shock South American return with serial champions to pounce

Liverpool are reportedly looking to send flop striker Darwin Nunez back to South America, so that the Uruguayan can ‘revalue himself’ with River Plate.

Nunez has not been a great asset for the Reds in his third season. The first two were positive, with the Uruguay international striker bagging 33 goals and 19 assists across them.

But this term, he has just seven goals and seven assists in all competitions. For a club record signing at around £85million (including add-ons), Liverpool would have hoped for far more from Nunez.

Speculation about him being allowed to leave has been rife of late, with a recent report stating the Reds are considering allowing Nunez to leave on loan, with an obligation for the side he lands at to buy him for around €40-45million (£34-38m).

DSports suggests Liverpool’s directors have proposed Nunez be loaned back to South America, with River Plate. There, they believe the striker can ‘revalue’ himself.

The Argentine side are the most successful club in the history of the Primera Division, so there’s some weight to that being the place he could find his feet.

However, his high salary makes things difficult, and the Reds would have to pay a part of Nunez’s contract while he was out on loan for the move to work.

If they were then to sell, River Plate might struggle to pay Nunez’s salary, if they’re unable to do so already.

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Al-Hilal move possible

DSports has also suggested that River Plate could lose out to Al-Hilal in the chase for Nunez.

The report states it’s the ‘end of the dream’ for the Argentinian side. While Nunez has emerged as a potential signing ahead of the Club World Cup, which they would utilise him for, it’s said he is ‘very close’ to continuing his career at Al-Hilal.

In terms of finances, the Saudi side would obviously be able to pay Nunez far better.

But whether that move would be better for him in terms of the state of his career remains to be seen.

Liverpool round-up: Osimhen move on

Seemingly out of nowhere, Liverpool have identified Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen as their top target.

It’s believed they also admire fellow strikers Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyokeres ahead of the summer window.

Meanwhile, Peter Crouch has explained being a Liverpool fan like an “island-siege mentality” where the club’s supporters are together when people are trying to get at them.

In terms of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s exit, he explained: “For every single Liverpool fan in Liverpool – it’s the greatest, the only thing that matters. So what they see as a young player in Trent is that he’s been given the opportunity to represent this club – why is he even dreaming about going somewhere else?”

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand stated he understands why there’s “venom” directed towards the right-back, after he revealed his decision to move on at the end of the season.

Every club linked with Darwin Nunez

By Samuel Bannister

Atletico Madrid – Nunez made his first steps in European football in Spain, but only in the second tier with Almeria. Now, he could get the chance to play in LaLiga after Atletico Madrid made him an option. Iconic head coach Diego Simeone could add another South American striker to his squad by signing Nunez, one year after getting Julian Alvarez from Manchester City. Intriguingly, Alvarez has been named as someone Liverpool admire, though there’s no suggestion yet of a swap deal.

Saudi Pro League – In January, there was a genuine attempt to take Nunez to the Saudi Pro League – and it’s believed he would have held some kind of interest in going there. If European suitors aren’t fully convinced by Nunez, moving to the Middle East could be a viable solution still for the summer. It will still have to be decided which club he would be assigned to in Saudi Arabia. Al-Nassr, for example, signed Jhon Duran from Aston Villa instead of Nunez, so now have less of a need. Al-Hilal also made a move for Nunez in January, so may be ones to watch.

Nottingham Forest – One of the Premier League’s big overachievers this season, Nottingham Forest have never been afraid to spend since their return to the top flight. They are still in with a shout of European football and their growing ambitions have led to some exploration of a move for Nunez. Rudy Galetti revealed in a TEAMtalk exclusive in March that Forest had begun tracking Nunez amid their ambitions to bring in a high-profile new striker. Since then, they have fallen back a bit in the Champions League race, but they are still willing to walk a financial tightrope to strengthen their squad.

Arsenal – This would be a surprising choice, but Arsenal need a centre-forward and there have been some rumours of Nunez being a contender. Neither Gabriel Jesus nor Kai Havertz have fully convinced at centre-forward for the Gunners. A move to Arsenal would give Nunez a lifeline in the Premier League, although the reports haven’t yet come from strong sources. And anyway, it’s a guaranteed upgrade Arsenal need after failing to catch Liverpool in the title race this season; there’s little evidence to suggest Nunez would represent that.

Newcastle United – Virtually every top club would like to sign Alexander Isak from Newcastle, who are going to play hardball in an attempt to keep the Sweden striker but might have to prepare themselves with a list of some replacements. Nunez might not feature too prominently on that list, but Liverpool have been tipped to put him on offer as a makeweight in their own move for Isak. However, Newcastle would prefer not to sell the highly-valued Isak at all and qualifying for the Champions League would boost their chances of keeping him, while lessening their need for another striker.

AC Milan – There were some rumours in January that AC Milan could offer Nunez a new challenge in Italy, but TEAMtalk learned they were unlikely to sanction a move of that kind of value. They opted to sign Santiago Gimenez from Feyenoord instead, but are expected to send Tammy Abraham back to Roma in the summer after his loan spell, so there has been a revival of striker links for the Serie A side and Nunez has been brought up again – although once again, only time will tell how serious that speculation is.

River Plate – What if Nunez opts to return to South America? Six years after leaving Penarol in his native Uruguay to arrive in Europe, he has now been linked with a move to Argentine giants River Plate. They would be wanting a deal early as well, since they are said to have pinpointed him as a player who could boost their efforts in the Club World Cup, which begins on June 15.

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