Liverpool agree £85m transfer for Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez with Benfica

 

 

Liverpool have agreed terms with Benfica to sign Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez, according to the Portuguese club.

 

Benfica has agreed to a cost of 75 million euros (£64 million), which may rise to 100 million euros (£85 million) with add-ons.

Nunez, 22, scored 34 goals in 41 appearances for Benfica in all competitions last season.

The £75 million paid by Liverpool to Southampton for centre-back Virgil van Dijk in 2018 is the club’s biggest move.

Manchester United were allegedly interested in acquiring Nunez, who cost Benfica 24 million euros (£20.5 million) when he signed from Almeria in 2020.

 

In 2021-22, the striker, who has 11 caps for Uruguay, scored 26 goals in 28 league games, 25 of which came in the 24 games in which he started.

Last season, he also scored six goals in ten Champions League games, including both legs of Liverpool’s quarter-final in April.

Last season, Liverpool won the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup, as well as coming second in the Premier League and losing in the Champions League final.

 

Fabio Carvalho, a 19-year-old Portuguese attacker, was Liverpool’s first summer signing in May, with the forward due to join from Fulham on July 1.

The Reds have turned down a £30 million offer from Bayern Munich for Sadio Mane, a Senegalese attacker who, like Egyptian sensation Mohamed Salah, is set to become a free agent next summer if a new contract cannot be negotiated.

Another major member of Liverpool’s attack during Klopp’s reign, Brazil striker Roberto Firmino, is in the final year of his contract, while Japan international Takumi Minamino is garnering attention from a number of teams.