Liverpool manager Arne Slot has confessed Darwin Núñez could leave the club in the coming days but refused to be drawn on whether Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak could replace him.
Having already sold Luis Díaz to Bayern Munich, Núñez is on the cusp of following him out the door after a deal was struck to take him to Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal in a package believed to be worth as much as €65 million (£56.4 million, $75.8 million) after add-ons.
Those departures would go a long way to funding a second bid for Isak, who is training alone after expressing a desire to leave Newcastle this summer. The Reds have already failed with a bid worth £110 million ($147.8 million) but, soon to be armed with the funds from Núñez’s sale, are expected to return with a greater offer.
Asked whether Liverpool will improve their bid, Slot told a press conference that he would rather talk about the forwards currently on the books at Anfield, and he confessed Núñez’s time at Anfield could be coming to an end soon.
“As you know, from me and I think every manager works like this, you never talk about players that are not yours,” Slot explained. “I can talk about Hugo [Ekitiké], who we have signed and done really well until now.
“We are very happy with the squad and have every reason to be happy because we won the league last season. Okay, players left but we brought players in as well and youngsters are doing good.
“At this moment of time, Darwin might leave, indeed, but things are not signed so we need to wait a few days until that is completely done but there is indeed a chance he is going to leave.”
Slot went on to stress that he is satisfied with the current state of Liverpool’s attacking depth, insisting he would be happy even if the club fail to strike a deal for Isak.
“We think we already have a lot of attacking power in our team,” he proclaimed. “I think about Cody Gakpo, Federico Chiesa, Hugo Ekitiké, Mo Salah, Jeremie Frimpong who can play as a right winger, Florian Wirtz who can play as a left winger...
“I already feel I have a lot of attacking options in my squad, but always as a club we are looking at the chances in the market but that can also be in the midfield and the last line.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘There’s a Chance’—Arne Slot Reveals Latest on Darwin Nunez Exit, Alexander Isak Transfer.
