English Premier League side Liverpool is very close to signing Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez from Portuguese club Benfica. The player who has been linked with a move to Manchester United seems to prefer Jurgen Klopp’s side than the Old Trafford side. The deal is expected to be worth an initial £64m with about £21m in add-ons. The 22-year-old scored 34 goals in 41 appearances across all competitions for Benfica last season.
He also scored twice against Liverpool as Benfica was beaten 6-4 on aggregate in the quarter-final of the just concluded Uefa Champions League which Real Madrid won. After their second meeting, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp predicted Nunez had “a big career ahead of him”, describing him as “physically strong, quick, [and] calm around his finish”.
A medical has yet to take place but it is believed Liverpool sporting director Julian Ward was in Portugal over the weekend to hold talks. Manchester United was reportedly also interested in signing Nunez, which cost Benfica 24m euros (£20.5m) when he signed from the Spanish side Almeria in 2020.
Their record transfer is the £75m paid for center-back Virgil van Dijk following his transfer from Southampton in 2018 and the deal for Nunez could surpass the Dutchman’s deal depending on the amount of the add-ons.
Nunez’s expected arrival could see him replace Sadio Mane, who is in the final year of his contract with Liverpool and is attracting the interest of Bayern Munich. The Reds have rejected a deal worth £30m from the German champions for the 30-year-old Senegal forward.