Darwin Nunez (CF/LW) to Al Hilal/Atletico/Napoli

That’s assuming we had to pay all the add ons that were structured into that deal , right?

The fee is again, like with Lucho, more or less what I would accept (gonna be even a bit higher) and what I thought it would be. Good to get this finally sorted. 3 years is more than enough time of chances at Liverpool. In the end, I also think he’s had enough and is ready for something else.

2 Likes

Those in the know reported that his final fee wasn’t close to 85 million pounds, it was somewhere in the region between 70 and 75 million pounds. So, the absolute loss on his transfer fee is about 30 million pounds but I hope he’ll trigger those clauses for Al-Hilal and reduce that loss.

From Sky:

Darwin Nunez transfer news: Liverpool agree £56.6m deal to sell Uruguayan striker to Al Hilal

“Darwin Nunez set to end three-year stay at Liverpool after club agree deal with Al Hilal worth up to £56.6m; Uruguayan forward scored 40 goals in 143 appearances at Anfield; Reds set to make eight-figure loss on player who signed for initial £64m plus significant add-ons”

“The Saudi Pro League club have offered a fixed fee of £46.2m (€53m) plus add-ons that could take the deal to £56.6m (€65m)”

Not sure how we make an absolute loss of 30 million with the figures quoted. It can’t be assumed all add ons were met and I think they weren’t, in all honesty

According to this we’ve paid 76.8m until this point (64m upfront, and the rest in bonuses etc.).

Bonuses aren’t transfer fees

2 Likes

Im sad. His highlight reel with us has some absolutely devastating stuff in it. A lot of our best football over the last few years has come from him and Mo on a 2 man warpath laying waste to defenses. But it was clear that there was not enough of it and the longer it went on the further he got from where he needed to be.

6 Likes

The club had still to pay them! :joy: Btw, I should have written ‘appearance-related fees, payable to Benfica’, rather than bonuses.

I think Slot broke his confidence completely, for whatever reason. Just like with Quansah.

With Klopp, he scored 18 goals in his second season with us. Last season, just seven. You are right, he has to move on now, but while Slot has done incredibly well with us until now, he doesn’t seem to be the best of motivators for this kind of player, who obviously thrives on confidence.

2 Likes

There are those aspects and also one very, very simple and important…

Quality.

I’d have put it down more to Darwin not suiting what Slot wants from a center forward for his system. No amount of improving his confidence is going to make him a player like Ekitike.

1 Like

I liked him because he was capable of making things happen. The agent of chaos. He destabilised defences. He may not have benefited directly from that influence but there were many occasions in which the team as a whole did.

2 Likes

Darwin had two seasons under Klopp - the manager who bought and staked a lot of his reputation on him - and he still couldn’t perform.

I don’t understand why you think this was Slot’s fault. The fact is he has three years, loads of chances, insane backing from the support, and he was massively disappointing.

7 Likes

I made the point early in his time he would be a scorer of great goals but would never be a great goalscorer and thats what was shown.

As for the agent of chaos that disappeared as time went on. Times last year after Christmas he was the agent of hinderance.

I wish him best and he becomes the player we thought he would do.

2 Likes

Did you miss Klopp pushing him out on left to try get more out of him at times.

I’ll miss him. Fun player, very hard worker, cult hero at times. As a few others have said, he ultimately wasn’t good enough. He was bought in response to City buying Haaland and us needing more from a center forward than we were getting with Bobby.

He scored some great goals, but will always be remembered for some of the mindblowing misses he’s had for us over the last few years, and for spending the majority of his time in an offside position.

The “taking a seven-figure loss” thing is a bit misleading, by the way. From a PSR perspective this will actually be a net positive for us, and while he was here we got some value out of him, so I don’t see it as a loss necessarily.

Hope he does well for himself and his family over in Saudi, and hope that he finds his way back to Europe because I do think he’s a great player on his day.

5 Likes

Nope I didn’t miss that, still I felt he suited Klopp better then he does Slot. I’d have been okay for him being the backup under Klopp. While with Slot I think it’s better for all of us for him to move on.

2 Likes

He was doing well in his second year until he scored that last minute winner against Forest. Afterwards, it was like he hit a brick wall, one which he never got past. Not in Klopp’s last months and not in Slot’s first full season.

While it’s true that last season there may have also been a system/tactics issue with getting production from whomever was playing as the No.9, it’s also clear that he gave up trying to make it work.

It’s a shame because despite his limitations, he could have provided a lot more. If he had, he wouldn’t be getting ready to head off to the Middle East at 26.

3 Likes

Good luck to Darwin Nunez. Two decent - not great, not terrible - seasons under Klopp, then slipped back, and out of favor, under Slot. In light of all that, we were never going to sell him for a very high price, but this all seems reasonable enough. I would imagine it’s a profit in the book value, but I’m a football fan, not an accountant. It’s a rare day when I’m cheering for a spreadsheet!

I like Nunez, and like everyone else, I see the ingredients there for a very useful striker, but we all know the score. He couldn’t quite get the finishing down, and missed too many.

No harm in all that. We are at the top of the tree, and we have probably signed an upgrade in Ekitike, and if Isak comes, he will definitely be an upgrade on Nunez.

No hard feelings for the lad, and nothing but best wishes.

Ideally he gets his mojo back and bangs in a few goals, before getting another good European move. He’s well capable. He leaves as a Premier League Champion. Not bad at all.

2 Likes

This will be 3 strikers gone now with Chiesa soon to be 4. With Ekitike the only incoming up top so far, Isak becomes more than a necessity now. With only a week till the season starts we have 2 key positions in CF and CB that need reinforcements. These players will need time to bed in also. We started the window looking like the squad was complete after our first few signings and are now about to enter the season looking rather thin in 2 of the most vital areas of the pitch.

1 Like