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It did not revolve around bringing someone in, but rather not shipping someone out — yet while Darwin Nunez was seemingly not for sale a matter of months ago, a summer reckoning seems increasingly inevitable.

The temptation is to slate whichever combination of Richard Hughes, Michael Edwards and Arne Slot decided to keep Nunez at the club, if indeed it is true that Saudi Arabia came in with a proposal that would have allowed Liverpool to recoup its initial investment.

Liverpool may have to lower its asking price, but it will probably still be able to cash in, an outcome that is looking increasingly likely as Slot continues to prefer other options in his attack.

Sure enough, Chronicle Live claims that Liverpool will make Nunez available for around $76M (£60m) in the summer, some $19m (£15m) below what the Saudi Pro League was said to be willing to pay.

Unfortunately, albeit unsurprisingly, Newcastle has already "dismissed out of hand" any possibility of taking Nunez in part-exchange for Isak

Should Newcastle slip back and miss out on European football, it may once again need to cut its cloth accordingly, and an informal "swap" would at least allow Eddie Howe's side to recruit a replacement for Isak while still banking significant profit on the books.

But regardless of whether or not Isak is on the market, Newcastle may hold an interest in Nunez

Should it qualify for the Champions League, it may be able to meet Liverpool's asking price without the need of any bargaining chips.

Having said that, the likeliest destination is surely Saudi Arabia, assuming Nunez is open to such a move

The league would get another of the big names it craves, Liverpool would get more cash than it is likely to earn from anywhere else, and the player himself would get a handsome pay packet.

It would be a shame to see him make such a move ahead of what are supposed to be his peak years
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