Nunez sees Liverpool exit route officially blocked amid Ekitike transfer talks

Liverpool's Darwin Nunez had been heavily linked with a Napoli switch, but the Italian club have gone in a different direction and signed Lorenzo Lucca as the Reds ramp up their own pursuit of a new striker

Napoli have completed the signing of Lorenzo Lucca from Udinese which looks to have closed a possible Liverpool exit route for Darwin Nunez, who had been linked with the Italian side.

The Serie A champions confirmed on Friday that they had landed the 25-year-old frontman, initially on loan, but with an obligation to buy. Antonio Conte had been looking to add more firepower to his side but has not chosen to pursue Nunez.

Signing Lucca was a far cheaper alternative for Napoli, who also want to strengthen other areas of their squad. It leaves the Uruguayan, who was formerly Liverpool's record signing when he joined in 2022, with an even more uncertain summer ahead of him.

His departure after three years at Anfield is expected despite him playing and scoring in the recent pre-season win at Preston. Liverpool haven't been shy in pursing a new No 9 and are in talks with Frankfurt to sign Hugo Ekitike in a deal potentially worth more than £80million as Arne Slot eyes more firepower.

It became apparent last term that the Dutchman wasn't sold on Nunez, who has consistently been let down by his finishing which has meant he hasn't delivered on his fee. Any move to Napoli though now appears to be off the cards.

Liverpool will have to take a financial hit on the money they spent to sign him from Benfica. Back in January they rejected an offer from a club in Saudi Arabia, despite the player being open to a move to the Middle East, but a little over six months on and finding a buyer has proved challenging.

Nunez, who has scored 40 times across his three seasons, has been linked with clubs in Spain and Italy. Atletico Madrid too have been credited with interest but are well stocked in attack and may not see the need to currently invest in the Uruguayan star. AC Milan are another potential destination, but would struggle to land him financially.

Slot was very vocal in his criticism of Nunez last season after a draw at Aston Villa, where the forward missed a golden chance that would've won the game for Liverpool. He said: "I helped him by saying you can miss a chance. I wasn't only hard on him. But for the second time in a row I wasn't happy with his work effort, against Wolves and against Villa.

"I can't accept if a player doesn't give everything. That is clear. I can accept it once, but twice was a bit too much. That's why I addressed it. If you miss a chance, you need to be fighting for the team. I'm not saying he didn't do that at all, but it wasn't the usual Darwin, the one that is loved by the fans. That is mainly because he always works so hard."