However, the team already consisting of Aleksandr Mitrovic, Ruben Neves and Joao Cancelo appear to have gone in another direction. Sky Sports Italy claim that they have agreed personal terms with Napoli striker Victor Osimhen.
Saudi teams, alongside Chelsea, tried to sign Osimhen a year ago but a deal broke down at the final stages. This time, however, negotiations are moving positively and only a £4.2m gap exists between Al-Hilal and Napoli.
A medical has also been scheduled, in order to ramp up the pressure on Napoli, who have been notoriously difficult to negotiate with in recent years. However, a deal will only be completed if Osimhen can play in the Club World Cup.
Galatasaray are also interested in Osimhen after a successful season on loan in Turkey, though it remains to be seen if they can match the £29m-a-year contract tabled by Al-Hilal.
The big-money Saudi transfer moving forward represents bad news for Liverpool, with Al-Hilal one of few clubs willing to pay a high transfer fee for Nunez, and any deal would likely be off the cards if Osimhen is signed instead.
Liverpool signed Nunez for an initial £64m, potentially rising to £85m, and would have hoped to recoup a significant portion of that fee if the Uruguayan headed to Saudi.
The Reds could be forced to lower their demands in order to offload the 25-year-old due to a lack of viable suitors, which in turn could decrease their own transfer budget and potentially miss out on top targets.
Sporting director Richard Hughes remains locked in talks with Bayer Leverkusen for Wirtz. Liverpool submitted a new £100m bid, with £13m in add-ons, on Friday night, but that is still short of the Bundesliga club’s £126m valuation.
Negotiations are also ongoing with Bournemouth for left-back Kerkez, who recently pulled out of the Hungary squad due to “private reasons”. The Cherries want £45m for their key defender.
