Darwin Nunez is poised to complete a move to Al Hilal with his frustrating spell at Liverpool nearing an end.
The Saudi Pro League club have had a long-standing interest in the Uruguay international, who was also a target for their Riyadh rivals Al Nassr in January.
Nassr, who eventually signed Jhon Duran from Aston Villa, saw a £60 million bid rejected as the Reds did not want to sell in the middle of what proved to be a Premier League-winning season.
Nunez’s move is reported to be worth an initial £46m, with more in add-ons once the final details have been ironed out.
Liverpool had allowed the 26-year-old’s representatives to speak to Al Hilal – AC Milan made a late move but were not able to compete with Hilal's financial package – in an attempt to reach an agreement before talks were opened between the clubs.
There is still some negotiating to do between Al Hilal and Liverpool but Nunez’s three-year stay at Anfield, in which he scored 40 goals in 143 appearances but became increasingly inconsistent in front of goal, appears over.
Nunez is expected to sign a three-year deal and will play under Simone Inzaghi in Riyadh.
His departure will take Liverpool's income from sales this summer to almost £200m, with more likely to follow with £40m-rated midfielder Harvey Elliott in talks with Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig over a move.
It also opens up a space in the forward line, which has already been strengthened with the arrival of Hugo Ekitike as part of a near-£300m spend, and the club's number nine shirt.
Liverpool retain an interest in Newcastle’s Alexander Isak after having a £110m bid rejected last week.
The Sweden international has been told to train away from the main squad having asked to leave, absented himself from their preseason tour to the Far East last month and spent a week working on his fitness at former club Real Sociedad.
Newcastle have repeatedly insisted the Swede, for whom they paid Sociedad £63m during the summer of 2022, is simply not for sale and with three years remaining on his existing contract, they hold a strong position in one sense.
However Isak, who signalled his intention to explore his options during the current transfer window, has so far resisted all overtures to sign a new, long-term deal at St James’ Park and that appears to have encouraged the Anfield club that they may be able to prise him away.
That said, Liverpool are understood to have drawn up criteria which will govern their pursuit of the former AIK Solna and Borussia Dortmund forward, or indeed alternative targets.
Among them are an insistence that any replacement must be of the required quality, must represent fair market value and perhaps most importantly, must be realistically attainable.
In that context, Newcastle’s asking price of £150m – which was designed to ward off potential suitors – would seem a significant obstacle, as would their long-held stance on his availability, although there is little doubt that he would meet the quality requirement having scored 27 goals in all competitions last season.
In addition, the Magpies’ interest in RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko looks unlikely to come to fruition with Manchester United confident they are in the driving seat, complicating the search for a replacement with Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson having been touted as an option.
It remains to be seen whether or not Liverpool will increase their offer if and when the Nunez deal is finalised.
Meanwhile, Elliott has been targeted by former manager Jurgen Klopp in his role as Red Bull’s head of global soccer, according to German newspaper Bild. The 22-year-old, player of the tournament as England won the European Under-21 Championship this summer, made 28 appearances last season but only three were starts in the Premier League or Champions League.
Leipzig want Elliott as a replacement for Xavi Simons, who looks set to leave for Chelsea.
