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Darwin Nunez celebrates his goal for Liverpool against Athletic Bilbao on Monday(Image: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Darwin Nunez is currently expected to be involved for Liverpool in Sunday’s Community Shield despite growing speculation about his future.

Napoli then opted to end their interest and switch their attention to other targets.

Since then Nunez has continued to be linked with the likes of both AC Milan and Al-Hilal.



And reports have emerged suggesting the latter of those clubs have reached an agreement with Liverpool.

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However, the ECHO understands that there is currently no deal in place with Al-Hilal, who were previously knocked back when trying to sign the striker.

Club-to-club discussions are not believed to have been held at this stage.

Nunez and his representatives are understood to be in talks with the Saudi Pro League outfit but discussions between the two clubs will only be held when a full agreement is reached on the player’s side.

Consequently, Liverpool are currently planning for Sunday’s Community Shield against Crystal Palace at Wembley (3pm kick-off) with Nunez as part of their thinking.

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The Uruguay international struggled to convince consistently under Arne Slot last season, starting only 17 of his 47 appearances and scoring seven goals.

However, he has enjoyed an excellent pre-season, scoring five goals from four outings for the Reds.

Nunez scored off the bench at Preston North End before netting a hat-trick in a behind closed doors meeting with Stoke City ahead of Liverpool’s tour of the Far East.

And while he missed the clash with AC Milan in Hong Kong due to a minor injury, he came on as a substitute in the Reds’ 3-1 win over Yokohama F.

Marinos in Japan.

Nunez then scored in Liverpool’s 4-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao as he lined up in the first of two friendlies against the La Liga outfit.

Celebrating by placing his hand on the club crest on his shirt, his reaction when leaving the field did little to quell the feeling that his Anfield career might come to an end this summer.

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He would later further fuel speculation by posting a cryptic post on social media as he shared a red heart emoji along with pictures from the game.

Hugo Ekitike started the second outing in Slot’s stronger side after joining the club in an initial £69m switch from Eintracht Frankfurt last month, and is expected to make his competitive debut against Palace this weekend.

Meanwhile, Liverpool continue to monitor Alexander Isak’s situation at Newcastle United after having an £110m bid rejected for the striker on Friday.


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