Liverpool 'strike agreement over Darwin Nunez transfer' with forward on verge of exit

Liverpool have reportedly agreed to sell Darwin Nunez to Al-Hilal with talks over personal terms still ongoing. The forward has been widely tipped to leave Anfield this summer following the arrival of Hugo Ekitike. Alexander Isak is also thought to remain on Liverpool's radar despite the Reds seeing a £110million bid rejected by Newcastle last week.

Nunez, who scored in Liverpool's friendly win over Athletic Bilbao on Monday, has been attracting interest from clubs in Europe and Saudi Arabia. A previous bid from Al-Nassr was turned down in January as Liverpool aimed to keep their attacking options open. Napoli also made an approach this summer but their proposed terms fell short of Liverpool's valuation.

Now, it has been reported by Fabrizio Romano that Al-Hilal are close to signing Nunez after reaching a club-to-club agreement with Liverpool.

It is claimed that while a verbal agreement has been struck, negotiations over personal terms are still taking place. Al-Hilal manager Simone Inzaghi is reportedly desperate to land Nunez but the final decision will rest with the player himself.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Nunez preferred the idea of staying in Europe over a move to the Middle East. AC Milan have also been credited with a desire to land the striker, who still has three years remaining on his current Liverpool contract.

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Nunez has fallen out of favour since the arrival of Arne Slot in the Reds dugout. He was mostly confined to a back-up role last season and saw his work rate criticised by the Dutchman.

Speaking after Nunez came off the bench against Wolves and Aston Villa, when he missed an open goal, Slot said: "I helped him by saying you can miss a chance.

"I wasn't only hard on him. But for the second time in a row I wasn't happy with his work effort, against Wolves and against Villa. I can't accept if a player doesn't give everything. That is clear.

"I can accept it once, but twice was a bit too much. That's why I addressed it. If you miss a chance, you need to be fighting for the team."

Nunez only managed seven goals in all competitions last season despite playing 47 games for Liverpool. He was restricted to just eight Premier League starts with Cody Gakpo usually getting the nod ahead of him.

If he joins Al-Hilal this summer, it could free up some extra funds to boost Liverpool's chances of signing Isak. According to talkSPORT, the Reds value Nunez at around £61m with Al-Hilal having agreed to meet their demands.

It remains to be seen if Nunez will be involved for Liverpool when they face Crystal Palace in the Community Shield this weekend.

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