Liverpool greenlight shock sale of £51.5m pair including 'hugely frustrated' star as duo eyed as replacements

Liverpool have set the conditions for the shock January sale of Darwin Nunez and a ‘hugely frustrated’ teammate amid interest from Serie A.

Nunez – who joined the club for a £64m upfront fee that could rise to a club-record £85m – has never entirely convinced at Anfield and is enduring a particularly difficult third season under new manager Arne Slot.

He’s managed just four goals and three assists in 23 appearances across all competitions, and with Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota all impressing along with the indomitable Mohamed Salah, reports suggest they would be willing to listen to offers for the Uruguayan.

It’s claimed AC Milan are ‘preparing a bid’ for the striker, proposing a six-month loan deal with a £41.5m obligation to buy in the summer.

The Serie A side have only just changed their manager, with Sergio Conceicao replacing compatriot Paulo Fonseca after a run of poor results left them eighth in the table, and that may lead to a change of tack, with no contact made as yet between Milan and Liverpool over the move.

But Liverpool are said to be willing to listen to offers as long as they can source a replacement in January, with transfer expert Rudy Galetti claiming the Reds are eyeing two options.

The TEAMtalk report states:

‘Among the names particularly appreciated by the Reds are Alexander Isak, even if Newcastle’s price request is considered very high. ‘But above all, Marcus Thuram, who has a release clause of €85m (definitely less than what Newcastle is asking for the Swedish striker), is a wanted man at Anfield. Liverpool are also understood to believe Inter’s valuation represents fair market value for the Frenchman. ‘Inter, despite being very happy with Thuram’s performance, are always open to evaluating operations with a strong capital gain and would also negotiate a figure close to the value of the clause.’

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Nunez isn’t the only forward who could be on the move in January, with Federico Chiesa – who only arrived at Anfield in the summer for £10m – also available for transfer.

A report on Wednesday claimed Slot is ‘not impressed with his application and mentality’ and TBR Football now claim that the winger’s ‘entourage have approached Liverpool with the idea of him moving back to Italy this month’.

The report states:

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