Liverpool want to make some money before signing any more players, but they will need to pick up the pace or they risk missing out on some of their top targets.

The Reds’ transfer plans have not exactly been very secretive this summer and the majority of people know the positions they are targeting next in the market.

A centre-back and a striker are the priority, but they could also look into acquiring a new winger, although all of these depend on outgoings.

Darwin Nunez is the most likely to leave and this will free up a space for a new number nine, although negotiating his departure is proving trickier than first imagined.

Napoli president personally intervenes in efforts to accelerate Darwin Nunez exit from Liverpool	‘Unbelievable’ Liverpool star now pushing for exit, Euro giants in contact with his agent	Napoli president holds talks with Liverpool attacker’s agent

He certainly is not short of potential suitors, with Napoli the frontrunners for his signature, and after what the Italian club’s president has just done, this transfer could begin to gain significant traction.

Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images

Liverpool do not often get transfers wrong but Nunez is one that will be classed in this category, mainly due to the fact that he is their club-record signing after costing £85m three seasons ago.

The Reds are firm operators in the market as well, meaning they are not just going to cut their losses with little resistance, hence why they are still holding out for a rather hefty fee.

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Napoli, however, are reluctant to pay their asking price for the Uruguayan, with their president Aurelio De Laurentiis even taking matters into his own hands to help strike a deal according to Corriere dello Sport.

The Italian outlet reports that he has ‘personally intervened’ in negotiations to help strike a deal and get it over the line quicker, with De Laurentiis now working closely with Napoli’s Fali Ramadani, the agent in contact with the Reds.

Liverpool are thought to be holding out for £51m to let Nunez go, but the Serie A champions are only willing to go as high as £37m, less than half of what they originally paid to Benfica for his services.

Udinese striker Lorenzo Lucca is Napoli’s alternative, although Nunez is their top target and as shown by their president’s actions, they are very set on getting the 26-year-old through the door this summer.

Sometimes you can picture a player in the shirt of another club and it just looks right, and Nunez in the blue of Napoli is exactly that.

However, the Serie A is also a league that will suit him nicely, with pacy strikers that love to run in behind usually thriving in this division.

Not only that, Napoli are clearly very keen on him and suggests they will do everything to help him succeed, something that will help bring his confidence back up and hopefully mean he will shine.

Labelled ‘unbelievable’ just last season by Ally McCoist despite large periods of insignificance, there is clearly a player there somewhere, his new club will just have to find a way to bring it back out of him.

Confidence is very much the issue with the 26-year-old but if Napoli can help him regain it, and it looks as so all the signs are suggesting they think they can, then the Italian champions could have a serious player on their hands next season.