Darwin Nunez Next Club Odds: After Liverpool

If you consider the qualities that Darwin Nunez possesses, you can understand why he is linked with a move to Atletico Madrid. He’s got an edge to him, he will run tirelessly all day and, regardless of how you summarise his time at Liverpool, he is capable of scoring goals. In isolation, that is very much a player profile that would appeal to Diego Simeone.

The doubt we have is where he possibly fits into an Atleti side with a deep squad. You have to think that Nunez will only happily move on from Liverpool for regular game time and Atleti are fairly stacked in that area as they already boast Julian Alvarez, Antoine Griezmann and Alexander Sorloth in their ranks.

Admittedly, all three of those players have been linked with some form of exit this summer, which could possibly open the door for a Nunez move. Even so, with several ducks then needing to line up, we’re not sure the odds are a great representation of value.

Saudi Arabian teams are thought to be sniffing around Darwin Nunez but, again, 3/1 isn’t a price that massively appeals. A move to the Saudi Pro League would certainly guarantee Nunez plenty of minutes – and we’re sure the Anfield hierarchy would love it – but it would wreck any European career he might want.

Throw into the mix that he is still only 25 years old, and theoretically not yet at his peak, he’s surely going to be reluctant to spend what could be his best years in a sub-standard league. It is also important that the player considers the World Cup next year, which is another reason not to move to what is a fairly uncompetitive league.

Darwin Nunez likely wants out of Liverpool. Liverpool likely want Nunez gone. With that in mind, you’d think he’s highly unlikely to start next season with Arne Slot’s side. At 9/1 for him to stay put through the two summer transfer windows, though, it’s a tempting price.

It is all well and good wanting a move but there needs to be a buying party and that could be a problem for this deal to happen. We’ve already discussed and put hurdles up for two potential destinations and whilst there are likely plenty of other teams who would take a punt on Nunez, there are two key things to ponder.

Firstly, can they or will they be willing to pay what is a sizeable fee to Liverpool and, secondly, can they give Nunez any guarantee of starting games.

Liverpool won’t sell Nunez for a huge loss and the player, if likely to play the role of a sub, might as well do so for a club that will likely be competing on all fronts next season, which is where he is right now.

We would put Napoli in a similar category to Atletico Madrid, where a move for Nunez is concerned. The raw physical qualities the Uruguayan boasts tick huge boxes in the profile that Antonio Conte likes his frontman to have, whilst his work rate is another quality that will be adored by Conte and the Napoli fan base.

Clearly, there are obstacles to this deal happening. Napoli are likely in the market for a wide man to replace Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, which might not come cheap and is probably a higher priority than a striker. The reason for that is that Romelu Lukaku leads the line well for the side and, that in itself, is another factor Nunez might struggle to get past.