Darwin Nunez is ready to end his turbulent three-year spell at Liverpool and has already chosen his next destination. 

That’s according to his former Penarol team-mate and Uruguay midfielder Walter Gargano, who says Nunez told him directly.

Nunez seems set to depart Anfield after spending three seasons there, with the last year proving particularly challenging as he managed to start only eight times in the Premier League, scoring seven goals across all competitions.

According to Italian transfer expert Alfredo Pedulla, Napoli have presented a deal worth €43 million (£36.7m), which is nearly in line with Liverpool’s asking price of €50 million (£42.7m) plus additional bonuses.

Gargano mentioned to radio station Kiss Kiss Napoli: ‘Nunez? The passionate support from Neapolitans would greatly benefit him. I spoke with him about a week ago, and I sincerely hope he decides to move to Naples.’

Darwin Nunez reportedly told an old team-mate that he wants to leave Liverpool and join Napoli

Napoli have reportedly made an approach for Nunez, who is also the subject of Saudi interest

Former Uruguay star Walter Gargano says Nunez told him his transfer desires directly 

‘I told him; “Go to Naples!” He and his family will decide what to do with his future. He told me; “Yes, I’ll come to Naples right away. I’m waiting to close with Naples.”‘

Gargano played for Napoli from 2007 to 2015.  

Nunez is a puzzling case of a striker seemingly having all the ingredients without the recipe coming together.

He arrived from Benfica in 2022 with a reputation for pace, power, and prolific finishing after the Reds splashed an initial £64m on him, with add-ons rising to a potential £85m. 

But a litany of misses have piled up into a seeming mental block which have prevented the 26-year-old from ever hitting the heights he did in Portugal.

A haul of 33 goals across his first two seasons was respectable but Nunez only netted sparingly over the last campaign. 

However, he did chip in with some important strikes, most notably against Brentford in January, when he came off the bench to score two stoppage-time goals and win 2-0.  

Liverpool manager Arne Slot was critical of Nunez at times last season and reduced him to a bit-part role after he had more joy under Jurgen Klopp.

Arne Slot openly criticsed Nunez about his workrate and relegated him to a bit-part role 

Nunez has scored 43 goals in 143 appearances since joining from Benfica in a big-money deal

Antonio Conte is looking to bolster his attacking options after winning the Serie A title

After Nunez missed a golden chance to score a winner against Aston Villa in February, Slot revealed he was upset at how the striker’s workrate dipped as a result.

‘I will tell him that you can miss a chance but you cannot miss out on workrate,’ said Slot. ‘That is the life of a striker, he will miss chances and score some. It is part of the job of a No 9, you miss when people expect you to score.

‘It is not part of the job of a No 9 to slow down in workrate. And that is something we will talk about.

‘I can accept every miss, especially from a player who scored two very important goals away at Brentford and that scored for us in the home game against Villa. I would prefer him to score but the word ‘chance’ says it all.

‘It is a chance and not 100 per cent that it goes in. I can accept misses but what is harder for me to accept is his behavior after the chance. It got too much in his head, he was not the usual Darwin who works his ass off and makes sure he helps the team.

‘He was too disappointed that he missed that chance. Maybe we will never know but maybe that was why he was just a fraction short the moment afterwards (when Emiliano Martinez won the ball in a 50-50 challenge).

‘I always truly believe it is always best to have Wataru Endo’s mindset. For the whole season he does not complain, keeps on going and keeps on going, whenever we need him he is ready. That is very difficult and there are not many players that can do this.

‘It is not the chance but the 20 minutes afterwards that I will talk to Darwin about.’

Napoli boss Antonio Conte has already secured Kevin De bruyne and is on the hunt for somebody to get on the end of his passes, with Victor Osimhen once again the subject of hot interest.

Mail Sport understands Liverpool want to sign a striker if they can afford one.

Newcastle’s Alexander Isak is the dream but he is likely to command an even bigger fee than the club’s outlay on playmaker Florian Wirtz, an initial £100m rising to £116m with add-ons.