£70m bid rejected, Arne Slot stance, AC Milan hijack

Darwin Nunez Liverpool transfer latest - £70m bid rejected, Arne Slot stance, AC Milan hijack

Darwin Nunez faces an uncertain future at Liverpool following reports of interest from Saudi Pro League giants Al-Hilal

Darwin Nunez has become the topic of speculation after links with Saudi Arabia and AC Milan bringing his Liverpool future into question. (Image: Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images )

Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez has become the topic of speculation over his future at Anfield. The Uruguayan has endured a difficult stint on Merseyside following his big-money move from Benfica in 2022.

The spotlight has been on the 25-year-old and whether he could live up to the initial £64m price-tag, which could rise to £85m, but thus far, he has failed to consistently find the back of the net as well as failing to cement a starting berth. This season, he has four goals and as many assists in 26 appearances across all competitions.

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However, the most telling statistic is that he has picked up as many yellow cards (six) as he has been on the scoresheet for Arne Slot's side. Throughout his Liverpool career, he has fired home 37 times in 122 appearances, adding 21 assists.

With the January transfer window in full swing, reports are intensifying around Nunez's future - he is a round-up of the latest speculation.

AC Milan face Darwin Nunez rumours

At the beginning of January, it was claimed that AC Milan were preparing a bid for the Liverpool forward. However, the Daily Mail reported that the Reds had yet to be contacted over Nunez's availability.

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Reports in Italy suggested that the Italian giants were plotting a move for the striker, initially on a six-month loan with an obligation to sign the Uruguayan for £41.5million in the summer.

The speculation intensified when imagery emerged on social media that Nunez liked an Instagram story where he was edited to wear the famous red and black strip.

Liverpool reject Darwin Nunez offer

According to Anfield Watch, Liverpool rejected a bid from Al-Hilal worth £70million.

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It has been claimed that Saudi Arabian clubs are interested in Nunez with the Pro League leaders showing the most intent. It has been suggested that former Benfica head coach Jorge Jesus is looking for a Neymar replacement and has an eye on strengthening their attack.

Liverpool are said to value Nunez at around £85million with FSG's head of football, Michael Edwards, handling negotiations, as opposed to Richard Hughes - who was appointed as the new sporting director in the summer.

In further reports from the outlet, it was suggested that the Saudi club were prepared to offer an eye-watering salary of around £400,000-per-week.

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Saudi Arabia interest in Nunez 'genuine'

Journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed that the the interest in Nunez is genuine. However, the Italian journalist's reports contradicted Anfield Watch's and suggested that the admiration from Saudi Arabian clubs hadn't progressed beyond sounding out conditions.

"Many questions on Darwin Nunez, what I can confirm is only that interest from Saudi in Darwin Nunez is genuine," he told his YouTube channel.

"There is interest for Darwin Nunez, there have been conversations to understand Darwin's situation, price-tag and all these sort of things.

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"For sure there is interest and contact from Saudi but at the moment, there is nothing advanced in terms of negotiations. We have to respect Liverpool in this situation, they spent important money on Darwin.

"There is plenty of things still to do, so interest yes but still nothing advanced or concrete."

Arne Slot comments on Darwin Nunez

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has yet to field questions on his future at Anfield but it is likely to be the topic of conversation after the Reds' Premier League showdown with Nottingham Forest.

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The Reds are looking to open up a nine-point gap over Arsenal and Nuno Espirito Santo's side ahead of their surprise Premier League showdown at the City Ground. As it stands, Liverpool are six points clear of Forest but the surprise challengers could hack away at the deficit should they continue their impressive home form.

Slot spoke about Nunez as recently as mid-December when the Dutchman moved to play down concerns over his goalscoring return for Liverpool.

"For me, he has impact," said Slot last month. "If you only look at goals, he hasn't scored the amount of goals that he wants to score, or we want a number nine to score, but he does have impact in his work-rate. He's part of a team that scores a lot of goals and is winning a lot.

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"Of course, as a number nine you want to score more goals and that's definitely what he wants as well. But I'm not only judging Mohamed Salah on his goals and Darwin on his goals - I also judge them on their work-rate and what they bring to the team.

"The fans support him so much that maybe he wants it too much." He added: "I made it clear to him that he's not only judged on the goals he scores but the team performance.

"Ideally, he scores a few goals more. It is the life of a number nine - sometimes you score, sometimes you don't - but what should always be there is the work-rate.

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"That's what he had apart from two games - the first one against Las Palmas [in pre-season] and the last half hour against Girona wasn't of the standards he should have and that had a lot to do with him being disappointed after missing a few chances."

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