‘It’s a good fee’ – Al-Hilal pay Liverpool £14m ‘extra’ for Darwin Nunez
Liverpool will be delighted with the fee they have received for Darwin Nunez from Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal.
If ever there was a game that perfectly encapsulated the Uruguayan’s time at Anfield, it would be the Reds’ 2-1 win over Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup last season.
Nunez was booed and jeered by the Cherries’ fans for missing an easy chance early in the match, and the chorus of mockery ramped up a notch when the striker miscontrolled the ball.
The Uruguay International responded by retrieving the ball, turning inside, and smashing a wonder strike past a hapless Ionut Radu in net.
The 26-year-old was capable of moments of magic, but missing easy chances and failing to deliver on a consistent basis made it difficult for Arne Slot to rely on the former Penarol man.
As such Nunez has been sold to Al-Hilal for a deal worth £46.2million [Sky Sports], which could become £56.6m if the add-ons are paid out.
Liverpool and Al-Hilal happy with Nunez price
This article contains exclusive comment from Dan Plumley, a football finance expert and senior lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University.
Nunez arrived on Merseyside for a fee of £64m [BBC Sport] from Benfica three summers ago, and his departure sees Liverpool make an immediate loss of £18m on the striker.
But despite the financial loss, Plumley explained to Football Insider exclusively that the Reds would be happy with the fee, as it was £14m higher than his current book value of £32m.
He said: “It’s a good fee on both sides to be honest, if you look at the initial fee for Nunez, it was £64m to Liverpool on a six-year contract, he’s three years into that now.
“The book value is £32m, and it’s not as simple as looking at just the book value, because you’ve got wages and everything.
“But if you look at that on face value, selling for £46m is a decent figure for Liverpool.
“In the context of what they’ve just got for Luis Diaz, what they got for Alexander-Arnold, there’s a couple of other players gone for decent fees; they’ve had a good summer in terms of fees generated for those players.
“I also think it’s a pretty good fee for Al-Hilal as well.
“He’s not had the greatest Premier League years, but he is a talented striker, he’s got years left in him, that’s a good fee for them.
“It’s not eye-watering prices, so I think the fee on both sides is a good one.”
Tottenham to hijack Harvey Elliott move to Germany
The Premier League champions’ bid to trim their unwanted players from the squad is unlikely to end with Nunez.
RB Leipzig have been in talks with Liverpool over a move for Harvey Elliott, but Tottenham want to hijack that deal after James Maddison suffered an ACL injury, Pete O’Rourke told Football Insider exclusively.
Spurs had previously attempted to sign Morgan Gibbs-White, but were rebuffed when Nottingham Forest claimed they had acted in an illegal manner to obtain knowledge of his release clause.
Elliott’s versatility and experience at the highest level would allow him to slot into Tottenham’s side as an immediate replacement for Maddison.