Liverpool could offer Darwin Nunez in GENIUS swap deal for ideal striker
Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez looks set to leave the club this summer. Although the Uruguay international is reported to have turned down the chance to join Al-Hilal, it is still expected that the 25-year-old departs.
Nunez has been with Liverpool since 2022 - having joined from Benfica for a record fee that could reach £85m overall. But things haven't worked out for the No9 - although he can leave the club this summer as a Premier League champion.
Shop the LFC Store
The new LFC x Air Max range 🔥
Nike x Air Max
LFC x Nike Air Max
Advertisement
Buy Now
LFC Retro Shirts
LFC Retro Shirts
Buy Now
Home Jersey
LFC Kits
Buy Now
LFC Nike Training
LFC Nike Training
Buy Now
Last season he failed to win over head coach Arne Slot - who has only started him in one league game throughout 2025.
Furthermore, he only scored FIVE top-flight goals last season - ending the campaign behind Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota in the Anfield striking pecking order.
Since turning down Saudi Arabia, it's become apparent that Darwin's priority is to REMAIN in Europe and there is no shortage of suitors for his signature.
In Italy, AC Milan and Napoli are thought to be keen. And in LaLiga - Atletico Madrid are suddenly back on the menu. That's according to a new report in Fichajes, which claims Diego Simeone sees Nunez as the ideal candidate to improve his strikeline.
Liverpool love Julian Alvarez
Although Antoine Griezmann has been secured to a contract until 2027, there is uncertainty around Atleti's other forwards. They are still in the hunt for Viktor Gyokeres and their striker ambitions could have an impact on Alexander Sorloth as well as Julian Alvarez.
Advertisement
The Argentine World Cup winner has been reported to be a little underwhelmed by life at Atletico since swapping Manchester City for the Spanish capital last summer.
Although he scored 29 goals in a memorable campaign, Atletico faded badly in LaLiga - leading the 25-year-old to put his own club future in doubt.
© IMAGO
Swap Nunez for Alvarez?
Liverpool retain a long-term interest in Alvarez and could well have signed him from City had Pep Guardiola's side not insisted on adding Diaz to the deal.
But with Darwin of interest to Atletico - and Liverpool club bosses liking Alvarez - there is an opportunity for Richard Hughes to conduct a stunning swap deal.
Advertisement
Alvarez is probably worth more than Darwin in the transfer window - given his contract extends to 2030 and his impressive goalscoring record.
But if the Reds can add a transfer fee to the mix in a part-exchange, then perhaps Atletico could be convinced to do a deal.
The former River Plate star was acquired for an initial fee of €75m last year. Liverpool value Nunez at around €75m too.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
22 minutes ago
- New York Times
Florian Wirtz set for Liverpool medical later this week
Florian Wirtz will undergo a medical on Friday ahead of completing his transfer from Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool. The plan, as things stand, is for Wirtz to arrive in the United Kingdom later this week ahead of the medical but both elements are subject to change. The Athletic reported on June 13 that Liverpool had agreed a fee of €136.3million (£116m), with €117.5m (£100m) due upfront and a further €18.8m in potential add-ons, to sign Wirtz. Advertisement The fee represents a club-record purchase for Liverpool and sale for Leverkusen, and would be a British transfer record if the add-ons are achieved. Leverkusen had reportedly set an asking price of €150m for the 22-year-old, which the Premier League champions did not intend to meet. Wirtz's Leverkusen contract runs until June 2027. The playmaker had also been targeted by Bayern Munich this summer but the Bavarians were informed last month that he favoured a move to Liverpool if he were to leave Leverkusen. Wirtz registered 16 goals and 15 assists in 45 matches in 2024-25 as Leverkusen finished second in the Bundesliga and reached the Champions League round of 16. In the previous campaign, Wirtz was key as Leverkusen won their first-ever German top-flight title with an unbeaten domestic season, alongside reaching the Europa League final. The Germany international scored 18 goals and assisted 20 in 49 matches, winning the Bundesliga player of the season award. Liverpool and Leverkusen have been in dialogue for a number of weeks after the Merseyside club met the €35million (£29.6m; $39.3m) release clause for Jeremie Frimpong. The full-back's arrival at Liverpool was announced on May 30, following the sale of Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid ahead of the Club World Cup. Wirtz and Frimpong have joined head coach Xabi Alonso in departing Leverkusen this summer, with the Spaniard taking over from Carlo Ancelotti at Madrid. Leverkusen have appointed former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag as their new head coach. ()
Washington Post
25 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Desperate Italy bucking the trend of picking more established coaches with hiring of Gattuso
ROME — It used to be that the coach of Italy's soccer team was someone who had a long list of managerial achievements and was nearer to the end of a career than the start. Not so with Gennaro Gattuso . But these are desperate times for Italy, the four-time champion that is facing a real possibility of failing to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup.
Associated Press
33 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Desperate Italy bucking the trend of picking more established coaches with hiring of Gattuso
ROME (AP) — It used to be that the coach of Italy's soccer team was someone who had a long list of managerial achievements and was nearer to the end of a career than the start. Not so with Gennaro Gattuso. But these are desperate times for Italy, the four-time champion that is facing a real possibility of failing to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup. Luciano Spalletti was fired after Italy lost its opening qualifier 3-0 to Norway and when Claudio Ranieri rejected the job, the Italian federation turned to Gattuso — a member of the last Azzurri squad to win the World Cup in 2006. The hope is that the 47-year-old Gattuso can transmit the same level of combativeness and determination that he used to display as a gritty midfielder to a group of players who have shown more willingness to sweat it out for the clubs paying their contracts than the national team. Never mind that Gattuso has won only one trophy in his 12-year coaching career: an Italian Cup with Napoli five years ago. Because wherever he's gone, he has had a no-nonsense and no-filter approach at a series of clubs in crisis. So it's hard to imagine Gattuso dealing with Francesco Acerbi's refusal of an Italy call up for the Norway game in the same manner that Spalletti did — by mostly brushing it off. Verbal tirade at Crete When Gattuso didn't like the way he was being portrayed in the Greek media as coach of financially struggling club Crete in 2014, he lashed out in a verbal tirade during a memorable news conference. 'I didn't come here for (a) holiday,' he said then. 'One year here is 10 years in another club. And this is good for me.' Gattuso then resigned at Crete before he was convinced to change his mind and return a day later. At his next job with Pisa, he and Foggia counterpart Roberto De Zerbi nearly came to blows in a heated argument during a playoff win to earn promotion to Serie B after Gattuso was hit on the head by a bottle thrown from the stands. And just last season at Croatian club Hajduk Split, Gattuso removed star player Ivan Perisic from the team for disciplinary reasons. Confronting Beckham As a player, too, Gattuso never shied away from standing up to the biggest names. During the match in which he scored his only international goal — against England in 2000 — a 22-year-old Gattuso criticized David Beckham for alleged diving, telling the famous midfielder directly to his face, 'This is not a swimming pool.' Qualifying bonus While financial details were not announced, Gattuso was reportedly given only a one-year contract with Italy worth 800,000 euros (slightly under $1 million). But the deal includes a 1 million euro ($1.16 million) bonus if Italy qualifies for the World Cup, Italian media reported. Teammates from 2006 Gattuso won't be on his own. Former Italy goalkeeper and captain Gianluigi Buffon remains the squad's team manager. Leonardo Bonucci, the former defender who was captain of the squad that Gattuso coached at AC Milan, will be an assistant coach. Andrea Barzagli, another member of the 2006 team, appears set to be named coach of Italy's under-20 or under-21 squad. And Cesare Prandelli, who coached Italy to the final of the 2012 European Championship, is being tipped to take charge of the federation's development of young talents. Gattuso's debut will come against Estonia in September. ___ AP soccer:
