Darwin Nunez saluted the Kop as they chanted his name, danced in the April sunshine, and celebrated with a cigar and beer in hand when Liverpool were crowned Premier League champions in April.

But the Italian club will decide to proceed with a move for Nunez only once a deal for Victor Osimhen has been finalised with Galatasaray.

The Turkish title winners have agreed to pay Napoli £64.6m - the value of Osimhen's release clause - for the Nigerian striker, but negotiations are ongoing regarding payment conditions and personal terms are yet to be agreed upon with the player.



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Nunez, surely, would relish the opportunity to work under serial winner Antonio Conte, who led the club to only its second scudetto in 35 years as they edged out Inter Milan in a hard-fought title race that stretched into the final game-week of the season.

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In winning Serie A for the fifth time, the Italian tactician became the first manager to win the league with three clubs, having previously guided Juventus to consecutive successes from 2012 to 2014, before masterminding Inter Milan's triumphant title bid in 2021.

"Napoli, as a team and as individual players, are doing so well because of Conte," explains Sky in Italy reporter Valentina Fass.

"At the moment, Napoli have a really good group of players and they're mentally happy and relaxed.

Nunez has scored 25 Premier League goals in 95 appearances, yet he has accumulated an xG of 33.

A large portion of Napoli's success can be credited to their smart recruitment of footballers flying under the radar in England's top tier.

Billy Gilmour was brought in by the club last summer from Brighton to partner his international team-mate McTominay, while midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa has excelled at Napoli after a spell at Fulham.

Former Chelsea and Manchester United forward Romelu Lukaku, though, was arguably the most high-profile player brought in as part of Conte's Premier League raid last summer, when he was bailed out of a doomed second spell at Stamford Bridge for £30m, and Nunez should be encouraged by his goalscoring exploits in Serie A.

For the second successive season, the Belgian hit double figures in Italy as his 14 league goals fired Napoli to the title, and during the 2023/24 season, he found the back of the net 13 times across a fruitful loan spell at Roma.

Although Lukaku has shown little sign of slowing down, at 32 the centre-forward is one of the club's most senior options, and it is anticipated that Napoli will sign a younger striker to lead the line next campaign.

If Nunez is to be Lukaku's successor, the Uruguayan has little reason to be fazed by the old guard

While Lukaku marginally outperformed his expected goals per 90 minutes last season (+0.03) and Nunez underperformed slightly (-0.06), the underlying numbers suggest they are similarly effective when chances come their way.

Fass explained: "Conte would never stay in a club he doesn't think can win so he must be confident in the Napoli project

Fans know that a great striker will arrive and they are really excited about it."

The opportunity for Nunez to begin next season as the first-choice striker at a club competing for major honours might be a fortunate reprieve after a tough campaign, but one based on trust that he can recapture his best form.

In Naples, with the guidance of Conte, Nunez could become the latest of the Premier League's outcast and overlooked to be released from their shackles and unleashed upon Serie A.


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