Having been an integral part of Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool side for the last six years, Sadio Mane's Anfield journey could come to an end this summer.
The 30-year-old Senegalese is out of contract at the end of next season and has intimated that he is ready for a new challenge, with Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich having been seen as the front runners for some time, having their opening offer in the region of £25m rejected by the Reds.
Mane has been a vital cog in Liverpool's success domestically and in Europe since his 2016 move from Southampton, his 120 goals in 269 games in all competitions for the Reds, 90 of them in the Premier League and 24 in Europe, and the dynamism he brought to complement a front three that also included Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino helping Klopp realise his 'heavy metal football' vision that made Liverpool the team to beat in Europe.
READ MORE: 'He knows what to do' - England sent clear Liverpool message after defeat to Hungary
Now 30, Mane is edging towards a new challenge, even though the Reds would like to keep him at the club. But at a time when the club also have another contract negotiation to try and sort for a player very close to reaching his 30s in Salah, the need to transform the side for the next chapter with young players that can carry the Reds forward under Klopp is a key priority.
Darwin Nunez is a player who has been on the radar of every major club across Europe for some time now. The 22-year-old Uruguayan has been a standout for Benfica in Portugal's Primeira Liga and is likely to be on the move this summer. Nunez is a player who Liverpool are interested in, although whether they can fashion a deal remains to be seen.
If Mane does choose to leave Liverpool then the Reds will pocket a handsome sum, the club likely to seek more than £40m for his services if they do feel that there is no prospect of him staying at Anfield. It will also see his wages of around £100,000 per week leave the wage bill, money that frees up space for a new addition to replace the Senegalese and potentially helping to bridge the Salah wage issue that the Reds are currently negotiating.
Nunez has been reported to earn considerably less in Portugal, some 70 per cent less in fact. However, a move to one of European football's giants in Liverpool and a Premier League that is the most watched in the world would mean a doubling of Nunez's exisiting wage demands would be the least the Uruguayan and his representatives would expect to achieve.
Nunez, according to transfer market value analysis conducted by analysts at Football Benchmark, has a value of around £58m. According to their research, based on a number of metrics, Nunez has seen the fourth biggest transfer market value rise in European football over the last four months, his value rising by £17.4m and behind only Barcelona's Pedri, Rafael Leao of AC Milan and Vinicius Jr of Real Madrid. He is hot property in European football right now, he fits the profile for what many clubs are seeking in the summer transfer window.
It is that clamour for his services that could prove decisive for Liverpool and be what ends any interest that the Reds had in Nunez, interest that is reported to be mutual with the Uruguayan favouring a move to Anfield, something that has been strengthened by the way that Luis Diaz, who played in Portuguese football at the same time as Nunez while at Porto, has settled into life in the Premier League, the way that Klopp's side play in perfect sync with how Diaz operates.
A potential value of £58m and wages of some £70,000 per week all seem achievable and something that wouldn't be out of the ordinary for the Reds in the market. But these values are a starting point and ultimately clubs will pay what they want to land their number one transfer targets, and there are several clubs that will have Nunez on their shortlist and be willing to enter into a bidding war. Benfica are reported to have placed a £100m price tag on Nunez, and while it is doubtful that they will get that the figure will embolden those who will freely spend that kind of sum this market to know roughly where they need to be. That £100m figure is one that Liverpool would baulk at.
A couple of clubs won't be engaged. The likes of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, after City acquired Erling Haaland and PSG got Kylian Mbappe to commit to a new deal after two years of flirting with the idea of a move away from the French capital. But for clubs like Manchester United ready to spend under new boss Erik ten Hag, and Tottenham Hotspur likely to try and be strong in the market this summer under Antonio Conte, not to mention Real Madrid still seeking a front man after their failed attempt at landing Mbappe, Nunez could well be subject to a bidding war, something that Benfica will be aware of and encourage in order to raise the price tag of their key asset.
Liverpool, under the ownership of Fenway Sports Group, have been masters at getting the right people in the right places to ensure that the club don't pay over the odds for players, that they maintain harmony through their wage structure and that the players they sign have longevity with the club and fit into the way that the team plays, eliminating as much risk as possible. They will have other options as well as Nunez should they need to go in that direction if Mane leaves, but entering into a bidding is something that Liverpool are understood to be against.
It is the first window flying solo for the Reds' new sporting director Julian Ward, who has taken the reigns at the club after Michael Edwards, the man who was Liverpool's ace in the transfer market, decided to seek pastures new at the end of this season. It will be a huge test for Ward with a number of key deals currently in play, and potentially blowing the model open by engaging in a bidding war likely won't be on the agenda.
The reason for that is two-fold. The club have built up the reputation as fierce negotiators who won't pay silly money for players, something demonstrated by their cut-price move for Diaz in January where they leapt on the vulnerable financial position of Porto and the Portuguese side's need for a quick drop of cash to meet debt obligations to land the Colombian star for £18m less than his release clause. Then there is the longer term need to add players in other areas too, with the need for world class imports in midfield to come as the squad ages. There is money available after what has been a strong financial period from May 2021 to now thanks to sponsorship deals and competition success, but sustainable success is key to the Reds and FSG.
Amortisation, where the cost of a transfer fee appears in the club accounts as the value divided by the length of contract, rose by £1.8m year on year in the Liverpool accounts up to May 2021. The Reds will be wanting to recoup funds to ensure the amortised costs don't rise too much given the signings of Diaz and Ibrahima Konate for sums of £40m plus and £36m respectively to fall in the next accounts to be published, with outgoings not bringing in significant funds during that time. A move for Nunez at a £80m fee on a five-year deal, for example, would show as £16m per year in the accounts.
Liverpool have Champions League football to offer for next season, something that Manchester United do not and something that will be a major factor if both they and the Reds go head to head for the player. But so often money talks, and Liverpool will have their own self-imposed limitations on how far they are willing to go.
