Darwin Nunez facing immediate Al Hilal blow once £46m Liverpool transfer is complete

Darwin Nunez facing immediate Al Hilal blow once £46m Liverpool transfer is complete

Latest Liverpool transfer news as Darwin Nunez heads towards an Anfield exit

Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez is facing an Anfield exit after a deal was agreed with Al-Hilal. (Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)

Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez is closing in on a move to the Saudi Pro League after the Reds reached an agreement in principle with Al-Hilal, however the Uruguayan could be handed an immediate setback. The 26-year-old's stint at Anfield looks to be coming to a head after a polarising chapter in his professional football career.

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Reports suggest Nunez said his farewells to his Liverpool teammates this week ahead of travelling to Germany as part of Simone Inzaghi's pre-season preparations. The ECHO reported this week that a £46.3million deal, plus bonuses, was agreed with the Saudi Pro League side in the latest sale at Anfield.

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Should the deal be completed, the forward will join fellow South American, Luis Diaz, out the door after the Colombian joined Bayern Munich last month.

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Jarell Quansah and Caoimhin Kelleher also form part of the exits on Merseyside following their moves to Bayer Leverkusen and Brentford, respectively.

A lucrative move to the Kingdom looms for Nunez but he could be handed an immediate blow should he complete his move as Al-Hilal will be banned from the 2026-27 Saudi Super Cup.

The news means Nunez would have one less shot at silverware next season, should he complete his move to the club.

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It remains to be seen whether Nunez will be included in the squad to face Crystal Palace but the Reds boss Arne Slot discussed the impending exit during his pre-match press conference.

"You never talk about players that are not yours, so I can talk to you about Hugo, who we have signed recently and has done really well until now," Slot said.

"We are very happy with the squad we are having and there is every reason to be happy because we won the league last season. Ok, players left but we have brought players in as well and the youngsters doing well.

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"At this moment in time, Darwin might leave but things are not signed yet so we need to wait a few days until that maybe is completely done but there is a chance he could leave."

The holders of the competition have been sanctioned by the Saudi Arabia Football Federation's (SAFF) Discliplinary and Ethics Committee after pulling out of the tournament due to their involvement in the Club World Cup.

Al-Hilal cited player fatigue as the reason for their lack of involvement with the competition set to kick off on August 19 in Hong Kong.

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Inzaghi's side were knocked out of the Club World Cup on July 4 at the quarter-final's stage after a 2-1 defeat to Fluminense.

The club were also fined 500,000 Saudi Riyals (£99,779) and as part of the sanction have been suspended from next season's edition of the competition.

Al Hilal were due to face King's Cup runners-up, and Robbie Fowler's former club, Al-Qadsiah but they have been replaced by Al-Ahli after Roberto Firmino inspired the club to AFC Champions League success.

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Fabinho's Al-Ittihad will also take on Al-Nassr which will see a reunion with Sadio Mane n the semi-final in 10 days time.

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